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CENTENARY     EDITION 


THE    WORKS    OF 
THOMAS      CARLYLE 

IN     THIRTY     V  O  L  U  M E  S 


VOL.    XXX 

CRITICAL    AND 

MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS 

V 


THOMAS    CARLYLE 


CRITICAL    AND 
MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS 

IN    FIVE    VOLUMES 


VOLUME  V 


/  ^4-o3 


NEW    YOUK 
CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S   SONS 
153-157    FIFTH    AVENUE 
1901 


■:\1 


A 


L. 


\3c>o 

V.5' 

CONTENTS    OF    VOLUME    V 


Shooting  Niagara:  and  After?        .... 
I-ATTER  Stage  of  the  French-German  War,  1870-71 

Summary        .... 
Montaigne  .... 

Lady  Mary  Wortley  Montagu 
Montesquieu      .... 
Necker       ..... 
The  Netherlands 
William  Pitt,  Earl  of  Chatham 
William  Pitt,  the  Younger 
Cruthers  and  Jonson  ;   or  the  Outskirts  of  Life 

Early  Kings  of  Norway 
CHAP.     I.   Harald  Haarfagr 

II.  Eric  Blood-axe  and  Brothers 

III.  Hakon  the  Good 

IV.  Harald  Greyfell  and  Brothers 
V.  Hakon  Jarl 

VI.  Olaf  Tryggveson 

VII.  Reign  of  Olaf  Tryggveson 

VIII.  Jai-ls  Eric  and  Svein 

IX.  King  Olaf  the  Thick-set's  Viking  Days 


1 

1-9 
60 

70 
78 
87 
100 
139 
152 
168 

201 
203 
208 
210 
217 
221 
226 
230 
247 
252 


VI 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS 


CHAP.     X.   Reign  of  King  Olaf  the  Saint  .... 
XI.   Magnus  the  Good  and  Others 
XII.  Olaf    the    Tranquil^    Magnus    Barefoot,    and 
Sigurd  the  Crusader  ..... 

XIII.  Magnus  the  Blind,  Harald  Gylle,  and  mutual 

Extinction  of  the  Haarfagrs 

XIV.  Sverrir  and  Descendants,  to  Hakon  the  Old    . 
XV.   Hakon  the  Old  at  Largs  .... 

XVI.  Epilogue  ....... 


The  Portraits  of  John  Knox 
Index    .... 


PAGE 

260 

284 


296 

301 
302 
305 
307 


313 
369 


LIST    OF    PLATES 

MONTAIGNE  , frontispiece 

LADY  MARY  WORTLEY  MONTAGU  .         .     at  page  70 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  ESSAY  ON  'THE  PORTRAITS 
OF  JOHN  KNOX' 

The  Somerville  Portrait 
Portrait  of  James  VI. 


Beza's  Portrait 
The  Goulart  Portrait 
The  Hondius  Portrait 
The  Torphichen   Portrait 


al  page  313 
315 
318 
325 
327 

at  page  330 


SHOOTING  NIAGARA:  AND  AFTER ?^ 

[August  1867] 

I 

There  probably  never  was  since  the  Heptarchy  ended,  or 
ahnost  since  it  began,  so  hugely  critical  an  epoch  in  the 
liistory  of  England  as  this  we  have  now  entered  upon,  with 
universal  self-congratulation  and  flinging-up  of  caps ;  nor  one 
in  which, — with  no  Norman  Invasion  now  ahead,  to  lay 
hold  of  it,  to  bridle  and  regulate  it  for  us  (little  thinking  it 
wsisjb?-  us),  and  guide  it  into  higher  and  wider  regions, — 
the  question  of  utter  death  or  of  nobler  new  life  for  the  poor 
Country  was  so  uncertain.  Three  things  seem  to  be  agreed 
upon  by  gods  and  men,  at  least  by  English  men  and  gods ; 
certain  to-happen,  and  are  now  in  visible  course  of  fulfilment. 
1°  Democracy  to  complete  itself;  to  go  the  full  length  of 
its  course,  towards  the  Bottomless  or  into  it,  no  power  now 
extant  to  prevent  it  or  even  considerably  retard  it, — till  we 
have  seen  where  it  will  lead  us  to,  and  whether  there  will 
then  be  any  return  possible,  or  none.  Complete  "  liberty  *" 
to  all  persons;  Count  of  Heads  to  be  the  Divine  Court  of 
Appeal  on  every  question  and  interest  of  mankind  ;  Count 
of  Heads  to  choose  a  Parliament  according  to  its  own  heart 
at  last,  and  sit  with  Penny  Newspapers  zealously  watching 
the  same ;  said  Parliament,  so  chosen  and  so  watched,  to  do 
what  trifle  of  legislating  and  administering  may  still  be 
needed    in    such    an     England,    with    its    hundred-and-fifty 

^  Reprinted   from   Macmillan's   Magazine,   for  August    1867.      With   some 
Additions  and  Corrections. 

VOL.  V.  A 


2  MISCELLANIES 

millions  '  free '  more  and  more  to  follow  each  his  own  nose, 
by  way  of  guide-post  in  this  intricate  world. 

2°  That,  in  a  limited  time,  say  fifty  years  hence,  the 
Church,  all  Churches  and  so-called  religions,  the  Christian 
Religion  itself,  shall  have  deliquesced, — into  "  Liberty  of 
Conscience,""  Progress  of  Opinion,  Progress  of  Intellect, 
Philanthropic  Movement,  and  other  aqueous  residues,  of  a 
vapid  badly-scented  character ; — and  shall,  like  water  spilt 
upon  the  ground,  trouble  nobody  considerably  thenceforth, 
but  evaporate  at  its  leisure. 

3°  That,  in  lieu  thereof,  there  shall  be  Free  Trade,  in  all 
senses,  and  to  all  lengths  :  unlimited  Free  Trade, — which 
some  take  to  mean,  '  Free  racing,  ere  long  with  unlimited 
speed,  in  the  career  of  Cheap  and  Nasty ' ; — this  beautiful 
career,  not  in  shop-goods  only,  but  in  all  things  temporal, 
spiritual  and  eternal,  to  be  flung  generously  open,  wide  as 
the  portals  of  the  Universe  ;  so  that  everybody  shall  start 
free,  and  everywhere,  '  under  enlightened  popular  suffrage,'  the 
race  shall  be  to  the  swift,  and  the  high  office  shall  fall  to 
him  who  is  ablest  if  not  to  do  it,  at  least  to  get  elected  for 
doing  it. 

These  are  three  altogether  new  and  very  considerable 
achievements,  lying  visibly  ahead  of  us,  not  far  off, — and  so 
extremely  considerable,  that  every  thinking  English  creature 
is  tempted  to  go  into  manifold  reflections  and  inquiries  upon 
them.  My  own  have  not  been  wanting,  any  time  these  thirty 
years  past,  but  they  have  not  been  of  a  joyful  or  triumphant 
nature ;  not  prone  to  utter  themselves ;  indeed  expecting,  till 
lately,  that  they  might  with  propriety  lie  unuttered  alto- 
gether. But  the  series  of  events  comes  swifter  and  swifter,  at 
a  strange  rate;  and  hastens  unexpectedly, — 'velocity  in- 
creasing'' (if  you  will  consider,  for  this  too  is  as  when  the 
little  stone  has  been  loosened,  which  sets  the  whole  mountain- 
side in  motion)  '  as  the  square  of  the  time ' : — so  that  the 
wisest  Prophecy  finds  it  was  quite  wrong  as  to  date  ;  and, 
patiently,  or  even   indolently   waiting,   is   astonished    to    see 


SHOOTING   NIAGARA:    AND   AFTER?         3 

itself  fulfilled,  not  in  centuries  as  anticipated,  but  in  decades 
and  years.  It  was  a  clear  prophecy,  for  instance,  that  Ger- 
many would  either  become  honourably  Prussian  or  go  to 
gradual  annihilation  :  but  who  of  us  expected  that  we  our- 
selves, instead  of  our  children's  children,  should  live  to  behold 
it ;  that  a  magnanimous  and  fortunate  Herr  von  Bismarck, 
whose  dispraise  was  in  all  the  Newspapers,  would,  to  his  own 
amazement,  find  the  thing  now  doable ;  and  would  do  it,  do 
the  essential  of  it,  in  a  few  of  the  current  weeks  ?  That 
England  would  have  to  take  the  Niagara  leap  of  completed 
Democracy  one  day,  was  also  a  plain  prophecy,  though  uncer- 
tain as  to  time. 

II 

The  prophecy,  truly,  was  plain  enough  this  long  while : 
Aoy/ia  yap  avrwv  r/?  fiera^aWec ;  "  For  who  can  change  the 
opinion  of  these  people  ! "  as  the  sage  Antoninus  notes.  It 
is  indeed  strange  how  prepossessions  and  delusions  seize  upon 
whole  communities  of  men  ;  no  basis  in  the  notion  they  have 
formed,  yet  everybody  adopting  it,  everybody  finding  the 
whole  world  agree  with  him  in  it,  and  accept  it  as  an  axiom 
of  Euclid  ;  and,  in  the  universal  repetition  and  reverberation, 
taking  all  contradiction  of  it  as  an  insult,  and  a  sign  of 
malicious  insanity,  hardly  to  be  borne  with  patience.  "  For 
who  can  change  the  opinion  of  these  people  ?  "  as  our  Divus 
Imperator  says.  No  wisest  of  mortals.  This  people  cannot 
be  convinced  out  of  its  "  axiom  of  Euclid ""  by  any  reasoning 
whatsoever ;  on  the  contrary,  all  the  world  assenting,  and 
continually  repeating  and  reverberating,  there  soon  comes  that 
singular  phenomenon,  which  the  Germans  call  Schzvdrmerei 
('  enthusiasm '  is  our  poor  Greek  equivalent),  which  means 
simply  '  Sxmrmery^''  or  the  '  Gathering  of  Men  in  Swarms," 
and  what  prodigies  they  are  in  the  habit  of  doing  and  believ- 
ing, when  thrown  into  that  miraculous  condition.  Some  big 
Queen  Bee  is  in  the  centre  of  the  swarm ;  but  any  common- 
place   stupidest    hee,   Cleon    the    Tanner,    Beales,   John    of 


4  MISCELLANIES 

Leyden,  John  of  Bromwicham,  any  bee  whatever,  if  he  can 
happen,  by  noise  or  otherwise,  to  be  chosen  for  the  function, 
will  straightway  get  fatted  and  inflated  into  hulk,  which  of 
itself  means  complete  capacity ;  no  difficulty  about  your 
Queen  Bee  :  and  the  swarm  once  formed,  finds  itself  impelled 
to  action,  as  with  one  heart  and  one  mind.  Singular,  in  the 
case  of  human  swarms,  Avith  what  perfection  of  unanimity 
and  quasi-religious  conviction  the  stupidest  absurdities  can  be 
received  as  axioms  of  Euclid,  nay,  as  articles  of  faith,  which 
you  are  not  only  to  believe,  unless  malignantly  insane,  but 
are  (if  you  have  any  honour  or  morality)  to  push  into  prac- 
tice, and  without  delay  see  clone,  if  your  soul  would  live  ! 
Divine  commandment  to  vote  ("  Manhood  Suffrage," — Horse- 
hood,  Doghood  ditto  not  yet  treated  of) ;  universal  "  glorious 
Liberty"  (to  Sons  of  the  Devil  in  overwhelming  majority,  as 
would  appear) ;  count  of  Heads  the  God-appointed  way  in 
this  LTniverse,  all  other  ways  Devil-appointed  ;  in  one  brief 
word,  which  includes  whatever  of  palpable  incredibility  and 
delirious  absurdity,  universally  believed,  can  be  uttered  or 
imagined  on  these  points,  "  the  equality  of  men,"  any  man 
equal  to  any  other ;  Quashee  Nigger  to  Socrates  or  Shakspeare  ; 
Judas  Iscariot  to  Jesus  Christ ; — and  Bedlam  and  Gehenna 
equal  to  the  New  Jerusalem,  shall  we  say  ?  If  these  things 
are  taken  up,  not  only  as  axioms  of  Euclid,  but  as  articles 
of  religion  burning  to  be  put  in  practice  for  the  salvation 
of  the  world, — I  think  you  will  admit  that  Swarmery  plays 
a  wonderful  part  in  the  heads  of  poor  Mankind ;  and 
that  very  considerable  results  are  likely  to  follow  from  it  in 
our  day  ! 

But  you  will  in  vain  attempt,  by  argument  of  human  in- 
tellect, to  contradict  or  turn  aside  any  of  these  divine  axioms, 
indisputable  as  those  of  Euclid,  and  of  sacred  or  quasi- 
celestial  quality  to  boot :  if  you  have  neglected  the  one 
method  (which  was  a  silent  one)  of  dealing  with  them  at  an 
early  stage,  they  are  thenceforth  invincible  ;  and  will  plunge 
more  and  more  madly  forward  towards  practical  fulfilment. 


SHOOTING  NIAGARA:    AND   AFTER?         5 

Once  fulfilled,  it  will  then  be  seen  how  credible  and  wise  they 
were.  Not  even  the  Queen  Bee  but  will  then  know  what  to 
think  of  them.     Then,  and  never  till  then. 

By  far  the  notablest  case  of  Swarmery,  in  these  times,  is 
that  of  the  late  American  War,  with  Settlement  of  the  Nigger 
Question  for  result.  Essentially  the  Nigger  Question  was  one 
of  the  smallest  ;  and  in  itself  did  not  much  concern  mankind 
in  the  present  time  of  struggles  and  hurries.  One  always 
rather  likes  the  Nigger  ;  evidently  a  poor  blockhead  with 
good  dispositions,  with  affections,  attachments, — with  a  turn 
for  Nigger  Melodies,  and  the  like  : — he  is  the  only  Savage  of 
all  the  coloured  races  that  doesn''t  die  out  on  sight  of  the 
White  Man ;  but  can  actually  live  beside  him,  and  work 
and  increase  and  be  merry.  The  Almighty  Maker  has  ap- 
pointed him  to  be  a  Servant.  Under  penalty  of  Heaven's 
curse,  neither  party  to  this  pre-appointment  shall  neglect  or 
misdo  his  duties  therein ; — and  it  is  certain  (though  as  yet 
widely  unknown),  Servantship  on  the  nomadic  principle,  at 
the  rate  of  so  many  shillings  per  day,  cannot  be  other  than 
misdone.  The  whole  world  rises  in  shrieks  against  you,  on 
hearing  of  such  a  thing  : — yet  the  whole  woi-ld,  listening 
to  those  cool  Sheffield  disclosures  of  rattening^  and  the 
market-rates  of  murder  in  that  singular  '  Sheffield  Assas- 
sination Company  (Limited),'  feels  its  hair  rising  on  end  ; 
— to  little  purpose  hitherto  ;  being  without  even  a  gallows 
to  make  response  !  The  fool  of  a  world  listens,  year  after 
year,  for  above  a  generation  back,  to  "  disastrous  stril^es^'' 
"  merciless  locliouts,''''  and  other  details  of  .the  nomadic 
scheme  of  servitude  ;  nay,  is  becoming  thoroughly  disquieted 
about  its  own  too  lofty-minded  flunkies,  mutinous  maid- 
servants (ending,  naturally  enough,  as  "  distressed  needle- 
women "  who  cannot  sew ;  thirty-thousand  of  these  latter 
now  on  the  pavements  of  London),  and  the  kindred  phenomena 
on  every  hand  :  but  it  will  be  long  before  the  fool  of  a 
world  open   its  eyes  to   the    taproot   of   all   that, — to   the 


6  MISCELLANIES 

fond  notion,  in  short,  That  servantship  and  mastership,  on 
the  nomadic  principle,  was  ever,  or  will  ever  be,  except  for 
brief  periods,  possible  among  human  creatures.  Poor  souls, 
and  when  thej  have  discovered  it,  what  a  puddling  and 
weltering,  and  scolding  and  jargoning,  there  will  be,  before 
the  first  real  step  towards  remedy  is  taken  ! 

Servantship,  like  all  solid  contracts  between  men  (like 
wedlock  itself,  which  was  ojice  nomadic  enough,  temporary 
enough  !),  must  become  a  contract  of  permanency,  not  easy 
to  dissolve,  but  difficult  extremely, — a  "  contract  for  life,"  if 
you  can  manage  it  (which  you  cannot,  without  many  wise  laws 
and  regulations,  and  a  great  deal  of  earnest  thought  and 
anxious  experience),  will  evidently  be  the  best  of  all.^  And 
this  was  already  the  Nigger's  essential  position.  Mischief, 
irregularities,  injustices  did  probably  abound  between  Nigger 
and  Buckra ;  but  the  poisonous  taproot  of  all  mischief,  and 
impossibility  of  fairness,  humanity,  or  well-doing  in  the  con- 
tract, never  had  been  there  !  Of  all  else  the  remedy  was  easy 
in  comparison  ;  vitally  important  to  every  just  man  concerned 
in  it ;  and,  under  all  obstructions  (which  in  the  American 
case,  begirt  with  frantic  "  Abolitionists,"  fire-breathing  like 
the  old  Chimaera,  were  immense),  was  gradually  getting  itself 
done.  To  me  individually  the  Nigger's  case  was  not  the  most 
pressing  in  the  world,  but  among  the  least  so  !  America, 
however,  had  got  into  Sxcannery  upon  it  (not  America's  blame 
either,  but  in  great  part  ours,  and  that  of  the  nonsense  we 
sent  over  to  them) ;  and  felt  that  in  the  Heavens  or  the 
Earth  there  was  nothing  so  godlike,  or  incomparably  pressing 

^  I  lias  [Americana)  in  Nuce. 

•Peter  of  the  North  (to  Paul  of  the  South):  "Paul,  you  unaccountable 
scoundrel,  I  find  you  hire  your  servants  for  life,  not  by  the  month  or  year  as  I 
do  !     You  are  going  straight  to  Hell,  you  —  !  " 

'  Paul  :  "  Good  words,  Peter  !  The  risk  is  my  own  ;  I  am  willing  to  take 
the  risk.  Hire  you  your  servants  by  the  month  or  the  day,  and  get  straight  to 
Heaven  ;  leave  me  to  my  own  method." 

•  Peter  :  "  No,  I  won't.  I  will  beat  your  brains  out  first  !  "  (And  is  trying 
dreadfully  ever  since,  but  cannot  yet  viatiage  it.) — T.  C. 

'3d  May  lS62.'—(Macmilla/i's  Jllagazine,  for  August  1863.) 


SHOOTING   NIAGARA:    AND   AFTER?        7 

to  be  done.  Their  energy,  their  valour,  their  etc.  etc.  were 
worthy  of  the  stock  they  sprang  from  : — and  now,  poor 
fellows,  done  it  they  have,  with  a  witness.  A  continent  of 
the  earth  has  been  submerged,  for  certain  years,  by  deluges 
as  from  the  Pit  of  Hell ;  half  a  million  (some  say  a  whole 
million,  but  surely  they  exaggerate)  of  excellent  White  Men, 
full  of  gifts  and  faculty,  have  torn  and  slashed  one  another 
into  horrid  death,  in  a  temporary  humour,  which  will  leave 
centuries  of  remembrance  fierce  enough  :  and  three  million 
absurd  Blacks,  men  and  brothers  (of  a  sort),  are  completely 
"emancipated";  launched  into  the  career  of  improvement, — 
likely  to  be  '  improved  off'  the  face  of  the  earth '  in  a  genera- 
tion or  two  !  That  is  the  dismal  prediction  to  me,  of  the 
warmest  enthusiast  to  their  Cause  whom  I  have  known  of 
American  men, — who  doesn't  regret  his  great  efforts  either, 
in  the  great  Cause  now  won.  Cause  incomparably  the  most 
important  on  Earth  or  in  Heaven  at  this  time.  PapcE,  papos ; 
wonderful  indeed  ! 

In  our  own  country,  too,  Swarmery  has  played  a  great  part 
for  many  years  past  ;  and  especially  is  now  playing,  in  these 
very  days  and  months.  Our  accepted  axioms  about  "  Liberty," 
"  Constitutional  Government,"  "  Reform,"  and  the  like  objects, 
are  of  ti'uly  wonderful  texture  :  venerable  by  antiquity,  many 
of  them,  and  written  in  all  manner  of  Canonical  Books ;  or 
else,  the  newer  part  of  them,  celestially  clear  as  perfect 
unanimity  of  all  tongues,  and  Vox  Populi  vox  Dei,  can  make 
them  :  axioms  confessed,  or  even  inspirations  and  gospel 
verities,  to  the  general  mind  of  man.  To  the  mind  of  here 
and  there  a  man  it  begins  to  be  suspected  that  perhaps  they 
are  only  conditionally  true ;  that  taken  unconditionally,  or 
under  changed  conditions,  they  are  not  true,  but  false  and 
even  disastrously  and  fatally  so.  Ask  yourself  about  "  Liberty," 
for  example ;  what  you  do  really  mean  by  it,  what  in  any 
just  and  rational  soul  is  that  Divine  quality  of  liberty  ? 
That  a  good  man  be  "  free,"  as  we  call  it,  be  permitted  to 


8  MISCELLANIES 

unfold  himself  in  works  of  goodness  and  nobleness,  is  surely 
a  blessing  to  him,  immense  and  indispensable ; — to  him  and 
to  those  about  him.  But  that  a  bad  man  be  "  free," — per- 
mitted to  unfold  himself  in  his  particular  way,  is  contrari- 
wise the  fatalest  curse  you  could  inflict  on  him  ;  curse  and 
nothing  else,  to  him  and  all  his  neighbours.  Him  the  very 
Heavens  call  upon  you  to  persuade,  to  urge,  induce,  compel, 
into  something  of  well-doing  ;  if  you  absolutely  cannot,  if 
he  will  continue  in  ill-doing, — then  for  him  (I  can  assure  you, 
though  you  will  be  shocked  to  hear  it),  the  one  "  blessing" 
left  is  the  speediest  gallows  you  can  lead  him  to.  Speediest, 
that  at  least  his  ill-doing  may  cease  quayii  prhmiin.  Oh, 
my  friends,  whither  are  you  buzzing  and  swarming,  in  this 
extremely  absurd  manner  ?  Expecting  a  Millennium  from 
"  extension  of  the  suffrage,"  laterally,  vertically,  or  in  what- 
ever way  ? 

All  the  Millenniums  I  ever  heard  of  heretofore  were  to  be 
preceded  by  a  "  chaining  of  the  Devil  for  a  thousand  years," 
— laying  Mm  up,  tied  neck  and  heels,  and  put  beyond  stirring, 
as  the  preliminary.  You  too  have  been  taking  preliminary 
steps,  with  more  and  more  ardour,  for  a  thirty  years  back  ; 
but  they  seem  to  be  all  in  the  opposite  direction  :  a  cutting 
asunder  of  straps  and  ties,  wherever  you  might  find  them  ; 
pretty  indiscriminate  of  choice  in  the  matter :  a  general 
repeal  of  old  regulations,  fetters  and  restrictions  (restrictions 
on  the  Devil  originally,  I  believe,  for  most  part,  but  now 
fallen  slack  and  ineffectual),  which  had  become  unpleasant  to 
many  of  you, — with  loud  shouting  from  the  multitude,  as 
strap  after  strap  was  cut,  "  Glory,  glory,  another  strap  is 
gone  ! " — this,  I  think,  has  mainly  been  the  sublime  legis- 
lative industry  of  Parliament  since  it  became  "  Reform  Par- 
liament " ;  victoriously  successful,  and  thought  sublime  and 
beneficent  by  some.  So  that  now  hardly  any  limb  of  the 
Devil  has  a  thrum  or  tatter  of  rope  or  leather  left  upon  it : 
— there  needs  almost  superhuman  heroism  in  you  to  "  whip  " 
a  garotter ;  no  Fenian  taken  with   the  reddest  hand  is  to  be 


SHOOTING   NIAGARA:    AND   AFTER?        9 

meddled  with,  under  penalties ;  hardly  a  murderer,  never  so 
detestable  and  hideous,  but  you  find  him  "  insane,''  and  board 
him  at  the  public  expense, — a  very  peculiar  British  Pry- 
taneum  of  these  days  !  And  in  fact,  the  Devii.  (he,  verily, 
if  you  will  consider  the  sense  of  words)  is  likewise  become  an 
Emancipated  Gentleinan ;  lithe  of  limb,  as  in  Adam  and 
Eve's  time,  and  scarcely  a  toe  or  finger  of  him  tied  any  more. 
And  you,  my  astonishing  friends,  yoii  are  certainly  getting 
into  a  millennium,  such  as  never  was  before, — hardly  even 
in  the  dreams  of  Bedlam.  Better  luck  to  you  by  the  xoay, 
my  poor  friends ; — a  little  less  of  buzzing,  humming,  sxvarm- 
ing  {i.e.  tumbling  in  infinite  noise  and  darkness),  that  you 
might  try  to  look  a  little,  each  for  himself,  what  kind  of 
"  way  "  it  is  ! 

But  indeed  your  "  Reform "  movement,  from  of  old,  has 
been  wonderful  to  me  ;  everybody  meaning  by  it,  not  '  Re- 
formation,' practical  amendment  of  his  own  foul  courses,  or 
even  of  his  neighbour's,  which  is  always  much  welcomer ;  no 
thought  of  that  whatever,  though  that,  you  would  say,  is  the 
one  thing  to  be  thought  of  and  aimed  at ; — but  meaning 
simply  "  Extension  of  the  Suffrage."  Bring  in  more  voting  ; 
that  will  clear  away  the  vniiversal  rottenness,  and  quagmire 
of  mendacities,  in  which  poor  England  is  drowning ;  let 
England  only  vote  sufficiently,  and  all  is  clean  and  sweet 
again.  A  very  singular  szvarmery  this  of  the  Reform  move- 
ment, I  must  say. 

Ill 

Inexpressibly  delirious  seems  to  me,  at  present  in  my 
solitude,  the  puddle  of  Parliament  and  Public  upon  what  it 
calls  the  "  Reform  Measure  " ;  that  is  to  say.  The  calling  in 
of  new  supplies  of  blockheadism,  gullibility,  bribeability, 
amenability  to  beer  and  balderdash,  by  way  of  amending  the 
woes  we  have  had  from  our  previous  supplies  of  that  bad 
article.  The  intellect  of  a  man  who  believes  in  the  possi- 
bility  of  "  improvement "    by   such  a   method    is   to    me    a 


10  MISCELLANIES 

finished-ofF  and  shut-up  intellect,  with  which  I  would  not 
argue  :  mere  waste  of  wind  between  us  to  exchange  words  on 
that  class  of  topics.  It  is  not  Thought,  this  which  my 
reforming  brother  utters  to  me  with  such  emphasis  and  elo- 
quence ;  it  is  mere  '  reflex  and  reverberation,""  repetition  of 
what  he  has  always  heard  others  imagining  to  think,  and 
repeating  as  orthodox,  indisputable,  and  the  gospel  of  our 
salvation  in  this  world.  Does  not  all  Nature  groan  every- 
where, and  lie  in  bondage,  till  you  give  it  a  Parliament  ? 
Is  one  a  man  at  all  unless  one  have  a  suffrage  to  Parliament .'' 
These  are  axioms  admitted  by  all  English  creatures  for  the 
last  two  hundred  years.  If  you  have  the  misfortune  not  to 
believe  in  them  at  all,  but  to  believe  the  contrary  for  a  long 
time  past,  the  inferences  and  inspirations  drawn  from  them, 
and  the  '  swarmei-'ies '  and  enthusiasms  of  mankind  thereon 
will  seem  to  you  not  a  little  marvellous  ! — 

Meanwhile  the  good  that  lies  in  this  delirious  "  new 
Reform  Measure," — as  there  lies  something  of  good  in  almost 
everything, — is  perhaps  not  inconsiderable.  It  accelerates 
notably  what  I  have  long  looked  upon  as  inevitable ; — pushes 
us  at  once  into  the  Niagara  Rapids  :  irresistibly  propelled, 
with  ever-increasing  velocity,  we  shall  now  arrive ;  who  knows 
how  soon  !  For  a  generation  past,  it  has  been  growing  moi'e 
and  more  evident  that  there  was  only  this  issue  ;  but  now  the 
issue  itself  has  become  imminent,  the  distance  of  it  to  be 
guessed  by  years.  Traitorous  Politicians,  grasping  at  votes, 
even  votes  from  the  rabble,  have  brought  it  on  ; — one  cannot 
but  consider  them  traitorous  ;  and  for  one's  own  poor  share, 
would  rather  have  been  shot  than  been  concerned  in  it.  And 
yet,  after  all  my  silent  indignation  and  disgust,  I  cannot 
pretend  to  be  clearly  sorry  that  such  a  consummation  is 
expedited.  I  say  to  myself,  "  Well,  perhaps  the  sooner  such 
a  mass  of  hypocrisies,  universal  mismanagements  and  brutal 
platitudes  and  infidelities  ends, — if  not  in  some  improvement, 
then   in  death  and  finis, — may  it  not  be  the  better  ?     The 


SHOOTING   NIAGARA:    AND   AFTER?      11 

sum  of  our  sins,  increasing  steadily  day  by  day,  will  at  least 
be  less,  the  sooner  the  settlement  is  ! "  Nay,  have  not  I  a 
kind  of  secret  satisfaction,  of  the  malicious  or  even  of  the 
judiciary  kind  {schadenfreude^  '  mischief-joy,'  the  Germans  call 
it,  but  really  it  \^  justice-^o^  withal),  that  he  they  call  "  Dizzy  " 
is  to  do  it ;  that  other  jugglers,  of  an  unconscious  and  deeper 
type,  having  sold  their  poor  Mother's  body  for  a  mess  of 
Official  Pottage,  this  clever  conscious  juggler  steps  in,  "  Soft 
you,  my  honourable  friends ;  I  will  weigh-out  the  corpse  of 
your  Mother  (mother  of  mine  she  never  was,  but  only  step- 
mother and  milk-cow) ; — and  you  shaVt  have  the  pottage  : 
not  yours,  you  observe,  but  mine  ! "  This  really  is  a  pleasing 
trait  of  its  sort.  Other  traits  there  are  abundantly  ludicrous, 
but  they  are  too  lugubrious  to  be  even  momentarily  pleasant. 
A  superlative  Hebrew  Conjuror,  spell-binding  all  the  great 
Lords,  great  Parties,  great  Interests  of  England,  to  his  hand 
in  this  manner,  and  leading  them  by  the  nose,  like  helpless 
mesmerised  somnambulant  cattle,  to  such  issue, — did  the 
world  ever  see  a  Jlehile  ludihrmm  of  such  magnitude  before  ? 
Lath-sword  and  Scissors  of  Destiny ;  Pickleherring  and  the 
Three  Parcce  alike  busy  in  it.  This  too,  I  suppose,  we  had 
deserved.^  The  end  of  our  poor  Old  England  (such  an  Eng- 
land as  we  had  at  last  made  of  it)  to  be  not  a  tearful 
Tragedy,  but  an  ignominious  Farce  as  well  ! — 

Perhaps  the  consummation  may  be  now  nearer  than  is 
thought.  It  seems  to  me  sometimes  as  if  everybody  had 
privately  now  given-up  serious  notion  of  resisting  it.  Beales 
and  his  ragamuffins  pull  down  the  railings  of  Her  Majesty's 
Park,  when  her  Majesty  refuses  admittance ;  Home-Secretary 
Walpole  (representing  England's  Majesty),  listens  to  a  Colonel 
Dickson  talking  of  "  barricades,"  "  improvised  pikes,"  etc. ; 
does  not  order  him  to  be  conducted,  and  if  necessary  to  be 
kicked,  downstairs,  with  injunction  never  to  return,  in  case  of 
worse  ;  and  when  Beales  says,  "  I  will  see  that  the  Queen's 
Peace  is  kept,"  Queen  (by  her  Walpole)  answers,  "  Will 
you  then  ;  God  bless  you  ! "  and  bursts  into  tears.      Those 


12  MISCELLANIES 

'  tears '  are  certainly  an  epoch  in  England ;  nothing  seen, 
or  dreamt  of,  like  them  in  the  History  of  poor  England  till 
now. 

In  the  same  direction  we  have  also  our  remarkable 
"  Jamaica  Committee  *"  ;  and  a  Lord  Chief  Justice  '  speaking 
six  hours "'  (with  such  "  eloquence,""  such  etc.  etc.  as  takes 
with  ravishment  the  general  Editorial  ear.  Penny  and  Three- 
penny), to  prove  that  there  is  no  such  thing,  nor  ever  was,  as 
Martial  Law  ; — and  that  any  governor,  commanded  soldier,  or 
official  person,  putting  down  the  frightfulest  Mob-insurrection, 
Black  or  White,  shall  do  it  with  the  rope  round  his  neck,  by 
way  of  encouragement  to  him.  Nobody  answers  this  remark- 
able Lord  Chief  Justice,  "  Lordship,  if  you  were  to  speak  for 
six  hundred  years,  instead  of  six  hours,  you  would  only  prove 
the  more  to  us  that,  unwritten  if  you  will,  but  real  and 
fundamental,  anterior  to  all  written  laws  and  first  making 
written  laws  possible,  there  must  have  been,  and  is,  and  will 
be,  coeval  with  Human  Society,  from  its  first  beginnings  to 
its  ultimate  end,  an  actual  Martial  Law,  of  more  validity 
than  any  other  law  whatever.  Lordship,  if  there  is  no 
written  law  that  three  and  three  shall  be  six,  do  you  wonder 
at  the  Statute-Book  for  that  omission  ?  You  may  shut 
those  eloquent  lips  and  go  home  to  dinner.  May  your  shadow 
never  be  less  ;  greater  it  perhaps  has  little  chance  of  being."" 

Truly  one  knows  not  whether  less  to  venerate  the  Majesty ""s 
Ministers,  who,  instead  of  rewarding  their  Governor  Eyre, 
throw  him  out  of  window  to  a  small  loud  group,  small  as  now 
appears,  and  nothing  but  a  group  or  knot  of  rabid  Nigger- 
Philanthropists,  barking  furiously  in  the  gutter,  and  threaten- 
ing one's  Reform  Bill  with  loss  of  certain  friends  and  votes 
(which  could  not  save  it,  either,  the  dear  object), — or  that 
other  unvenerable  Majesty's  Ministry,  which,  on  Beales's 
generous  undertaking  for  the  Peace  of  an  afflicted  Queen*'s 
Majesty,  bursts  into  tears. 

Memorable  considerably,  and  altogether  new  in  our  His- 
tory,   are    both    those    ministerial    feats ;    and    both    point 


SHOOTING   NIAGARA:    AND   AFTER?      13 

significantly  the  same  way.  The  perceptible,  but  as  yet 
unacknowledged  truth  is,  people  are  getting  dimly  sensible 
that  our  Social  Affairs  and  Arrangements,  all  but  the  money- 
safe,  are  pretty  universally  a  Falsehood,  an  elaborate  old- 
established  Hypocrisy,  which  is  even  serving  its  own  poor 
private  purpose  ill,  and  is  openly  mismanaging  every  public 
purpose  or  interest,  to  a  shameful  and  indefensible  extent. 
For  such  a  Hypocrisy,  in  any  detail  of  it  (except  the  money- 
safe),  nobody,  official  or  other,  is  wiUing  to  risk  his  skin ; 
but  cautiously  looks  round  whether  there  is  no  postern  to 
retire  by,  and  retires  accordingly, — leaving  any  mob-leader, 
Beales,  John  of  Leyden,  Walter  the  Penniless,  or  other  im- 
potent enough  loud  individual,  with  his  tail  of  loud  Roughs, 
to  work  their  own  sweet  will.  Safer  to  humour  the  mob 
than  repress  them,  with  the  rope  about  your  neck.  Every- 
body sees  this  official  slinking-offi,  has  a  secret  fellow-feeling 
with  it ;  nobody  admires  it ;  but  the  spoken  disapproval  is 
languid,  and  generally  from  the  teeth  outwards.  "  Has  not 
everybody  been  very  good  to  you  ?  "  say  the  highest  Editors, 
in  these  current  days,  admonishing  and  soothing-down  Beales 
and  his  Roughs. 

So  that,  if  loud  mobs,  supported  by  one  or  two  Eloquences 
in  the  House,  choose  to  proclaim,  some  day,  with  vociferation, 
as  some  day  they  will,  "  Enough  of  kingship,  and  its  grimac- 
ings  and  futilities  !  Is  it  not  a  Hypocrisy  and  Humbug,  as 
you  yourselves  well  know  ?  We  demand  to  become  Common- 
wealth  of  England ;  that  will  perhaps  be  better,  worse  it 
cannot  be  ! " — in  such  case,  how  much  of  available  resistance 
does  the  reader  think  would  ensue  ?  From  official  persons, 
with  the  rope  round  their  neck,  should  you  expect  a  great 
amount  ?  I  do  not ;  or  that  resistance  to  the  death  would 
anywhere,  '  within  these  walls '  or  without,  be  the  prevailing 
phenomenon. 

For  we  are  a  people  drowned  in  Hypocrisy  ;  saturated  with 
it  to  the  bone  : — alas,  it  is  even  so,  in  spite  of  far  other 
intentions  at  one  time,  and  of  a  languid,  dumb,  but  ineradi- 


14  MISCELLANIES 

cable  inward  protest  against  it  still : — and  we  are  beginning 
to  be  universally  conscious  of  that  horrible  condition,  and  by 
no  means  disposed  to  die  in  behalf  of  continuing  it !  It  has 
lasted  long,  that  unblessed  process ;  process  of  '  lying  to  steep 
in  the  Devil's  Pickle,'  for  above  two  hundred  years  (I  date  the 
formal  beginning  of  it  from  the  year  1660,  and  desperate 
return  of  Sacred  Majesty  after  such  an  ousting  as  it  had  got)  ; 
process  which  appears  to  be  now  about  complete.  Who  could 
regret  the  finis  of  such  a  thing ;  finis  on  any  terms  whatever  ! 
Possibly  it  will  not  be  death  eternal,  possibly  only  death 
temporal,  death  temporary. 

My  neighbours,  by  the  million  against  one,  all  expect  that 
it  will  almost  certainly  be  New-birth,  a  Saturnian  time,  with 
gold  nuggets  themselves  more  plentiful  than  ever.  As  for  us, 
we  will  say.  Rejoice  in  the  awakening  of  poor  England  even 
on  these  terms.  To  lie  torpid,  sluttishly  gurgling  and 
mumbling,  spiritually  in  soak  *in  the  Devil's  Pickle' 
(choicest  elixir  the  Devil  brews, — is  not  unconscious  or  half- 
conscious  Hypocrisy,  and  quiet  Make-believe  of  yourself  and 
others  strictly  that  ?)  for  above  two  hundred  years  :  that  was 
the  infinitely  dismal  condition,  all  others  are  but  finitely  so. 


IV 

Practically  the  worthiest  inquiry,  in  regard  to  all  this, 
would  be  :  "  What  are  probably  the  steps  towards  consumma- 
tion all  this  will  now  take ;  what  are,  in  main  features,  the 
issues  it  will  arrive  at,  on  unexpectedly  (with  immense  sur- 
prise to  the  most)  shooting'  Niagara  to  the  bottom  ?  And 
above  all,  what  are  the  possibilities,  resources,  impediments, 
conceivable  methods  and  attemptings  of  its  ever  getting  out 
again  ? "  Darker  subject  of  Prophecy  can  be  laid  before  no 
man  ;  and  to  be  candid  with  myself,  up  to  this  date  I  have 
never  seriously  meditated  it,  far  less  grappled  with  it  as  a 
Problem  in  any  sort  practical.  Let  me  avoid  branch  ^r^if  of 
this  inquiry  altogether.      If  <  immortal  smash,'  and  shooting 


SHOOTING   NIAGARA:    AND   AFTER?      15 

of  the  Falls,  be  the  one  issue  ahead,  our  and  the  reformed 
Parliament's  procedures  and  adventures  in  arriving  there  are 
not  worth  conjecturing,  in  comparison  ! — And  yet  the  inquiry 
means  withal,  both  branches  of  it  mean,  "  What  are  the  duties 
of  good  citizens  in  it,  now  and  onwards  ? ""  Meditated  it  must 
be,  and  light  sought  on  it,  however  hard  or  impossible  to 
find  !  It  is  not  always  the  part  of  the  infinitesimally  small 
minority  of  wise  men  and  good  citizens  to  sit  silent ;  idle 
they  should  never  sit. 

Supposing  the  Commonwealth  established,  and  Democracy 
rampant,  as  in  America,  or  in  France  by  fits  for  70  odd  years 
past, — it  is  a  favourable  fact  that  our  Aristocracy,  in  their 
essential  height  of  position,  and  capability  (or  possibility)  of 
doing  good,  are  not  at  once  likely  to  be  interfered  with ;  that 
they  will  be  continued  farther  on  their  trial,  and  only  the 
question  somewhat  more  stringently  put  to  them,  "  What  are 
you  good  for,  then  ?  Show  us,  show  us  ;  or  else  disappear  !  " 
I  regard  this  as  potentially  a  great  benefit ; — springing  from 
what  seems  a  mad  enough  phenomenon,  the  fervid  zeal  in 
behalf  oi  this  "new  Reform  Bill""  and  all  kindred  objects, 
which  is  manifested  by  the  better  kind  of  our  young  Lords 
and  Honourables  ;  a  thing  very  curious  to  me.  Somewhat 
resembling  that  bet  of  the  impetuous  Irish  carpenter,  astride 
of  his  plank  firmly  stuck  out  of  window  in  the  sixth  story, 
"  Two  to  one  I  can  saw  this  plank  in  so  many  minutes  " ; 
and  sawing  accordingly,  fiercely  impetuous, — with  success  ! 
But  from  the  maddest  thing,  as  we  said,  there  usually  may 
come  some  particle  of  good  withal  (if  any  poor  particle  of 
good  did  lie  in  it,  waiting  to  be  disengaged  !) — and  this  is  a 
signal  instance  of  that  kind.  Our  Aristocracy  are  not  hated 
or  disliked  by  any  Class  of  the  People,  but  on  the  contrary 
are  looked  up  to, — with  a  certain  vulgarly  human  admiration, 
and  spontaneous  recognition  of  their  good  qualities  and  good 
fortune,  which  is  by  no  means  wholly  envious  or  wholly 
servile, — by  all  classes,  lower  and  lowest  class  included.     And 


16  MISCELLANIES 

indeed,  in  spite  of  lamentable  exceptions  too  visible  all  round, 
my  vote  would  still  be,  That  from  Plebs  to  Princeps,  there 
was  still  no  Class  among  us  intrinsically  so  valuable  and 
recommendable. 

What  the  possibilities  of  our  Aristocracy  might  still  be  ? 
this  is  a  question  I  have  often  asked  myself.  Surely  their 
possibilities  might  still  be  considerable ;  though  I  confess 
they  lie  in  a  most  abstruse,  and  as  yet  quite  uninvestigated 
condition.  But  a  body  of  brave  men,  and  of  beautiful  polite 
women,  furnished  gratis  as  they  are, — some  of  them  (as  my 
Lord  Derby,  I  am  told,  in  a  few  years  will  be)  with  not  far 
from  two-thirds  of  a  million  sterling  annually, — ought  to  be 
good  for  something,  in  a  society  mostly  fallen  vulgar  and 
chaotic  like  ours  !  More  than  once  I  have  been  affected  with 
a  deep  sorrow  and  respect  for  noble  souls  among  them,  and 
their  high  stoicism,  and  silent  resignation  to  a  kind  of  life 
which  they  individually  could  not  alter,  and  saw  to  be  so 
empty  and  paltry ;  life  of  giving  and  receiving  Hospitalities 
in  a  gracefully  splendid  manner.  "  This,  then  "  (such  mute 
soliloquy  I  have  read  on  some  noble  brow),  "  this,  and 
something  of  Village-schools,  of  Consulting  with  the  Parson, 
care  of  Peasant  Cottages  and  Economies,  is  to  be  all  our 
task  in  the  world .''  Well,  well ;  let  us  at  least  do  this,  in 
our  most  perfect  way  ! " 

In  past  years,  I  have  sometimes  thought  what  a  thing  it 
would  be,  could  the  Queen  '  in  Council ""  (in  Parliament  or 
wherever  it  were)  pick  out  some  gallant-minded,  stout,  well- 
gifted  Cadet, — younger  Son  of  a  Duke,  of  an  Earl,  of  a 
Queen  herself;  younger  Son  doomed  now  to  go  mainly  to  the 
Devil,  for  absolute  want  of  a  career  ;  and  say  to  him,  "  Young 
fellow,  if  there  do  lie  in  you  potentialities  of  governing,  of 
gradually  guiding,  leading  and  coercing  to  a  noble  goal,  how 
sad  is  it  they  should  be  all  lost !  They  are  the  grandest 
gifts  a  mortal  can  have ;  and  they  are,  of  all,  the  most 
necessary  to  other  mortals  in  this  world.  See,  I  have  scores 
on  scores  of  *  Colonies,'  all   ungoverned,  and   nine-tenths  of 


SHOOTING   NIAGARA:    AND   AFTER?      17 

them  full  of  jungles,  boa-constrictors,  rattlesnakes,  Parlia- 
mentary Eloquences,  and  Emancipated  Niggers  ripening 
towards  nothing  but  destruction :  one  of  these  you  shall 
have,  you  as  Vice-King ;  on  rational  conditions,  and  ad 
vitam  aiit  culpam  it  shall  be  yours  (and  perhaps  your 
posterity's  if  worthy)  :  go  you  and  buckle  with  it,  in  the 
name  of  Heaven  ;  and  let  us  see  what  you  will  build  it  to  ! " 
To  something  how  much  better  than  the  Parliamentary 
Eloquences  are  doing, — thinks  the  reader  ?  Good  Heavens, 
these  West-India  Islands,  some  of  them,  appear  to  be  the 
richest  and  most  favoured  spots  on  the  Planet  Earth. 
Jamaica  is  an  angry  subject,  and  I  am  shy  to  speak  of  it. 
Poor  Dominica  itself  is  described  to  me  in  a  way  to  kindle 
a  heroic  young  heart ;  look  at  Dominica  for  an  instant. 

Hemispherical,  they  say,  or  in  the  shape  of  an  Inverted 
Washbowl ;  rim  of  it,  first  twenty  miles  of  it  all  round, 
starting  from  the  sea,  is  flat  alluvium,  the  fruitfulest  in 
Nature,  fit  for  any  noblest  spice  or  product,  but  unwholesome 
except  for  Niggers  held  steadily  to  their  work  :  ground  then 
gradually  rises,  umbrageously  rich  throughout,  becomes  fit 
for  coflfee ;  still  rises,  now  bears  oak  woods,  cereals,  Indian 
corn,  English  wheat,  and  in  this  upper  portion  is  salubrious 
and  delightful  for  the  European, — who  might  there  spread 
and  grow,  according  to  the  wisdom  given  him  ;  say  only  to 
a  population  of  100,000  adult  men  ;  well  fit  to  defend  their 
Island  against  all  comers,  and  beneficently  keep  steady  to 
their  work  a  million  of  Niggers  on  the  lower  ranges.  What 
a  kingdom  my  poor  Friedrich  Wilhelm,  followed  by  his 
Friedrich,  would  have  made  of  this  Inverted  Washbowl ; 
clasped  round  and  lovingly  kissed  and  laved  by  the  beauti- 
fulest  seas  in  the  world,  and  beshone  by  the  grandest  sun 
and  sky  ! 

"  Forever  impossible,"  say  you ;  "  contrary  to  all  our 
notions,  regulations  and  ways  of  proceeding  or  of  thinking  ? " 
Well,  I  daresay.  And  the  state  your  regulations  have  it  in, 
at  present,  is :  Population  of  100  white  men  (by  no  means 

VOL.  v.  B 


18  MISCELLANIES 

of  select  type) ;  unknown  cipher  of  rattlesnakes,  profligate 
Niggers  and  Mulattoes  ;  governed  by  a  Piebald  Parliament 
of  Eleven  (head  Demosthenes  there  a  Nigger  Tinman), — and 
so  exquisite  a  care  of  Being  and  of  Well-being  that  the  old 
Fortifications  have  become  jungle-quarries  (Tinman  "at  liberty 
to  tax  himself"),  vigorous  roots  penetrating  the  old  ashlar, 
dislocating  it  everywhere,  with  tropical  effect ;  old  cannon 
going  quietly  to  honeycomb  and  oxide  of  iron,  in  the  vigorous 
embrace  of  jungle  :  military  force  nil,  police  force  next  to 
nil :  an  Island  capable  of  being  taken  by  the  crew  of  a  man- 
of-war's  boat.  And  indeed  it  was  nearly  lost,  the  other 
year,  by  an  accidental  collision  of  two  Niggers  on  the  street, 
and  a  concourse  of  other  idle  Niggers  to  see, — who  would 
not  go  away  again,  but  idly  re-assembled  with  increased 
numbers  on  the  morrow,  and  with  ditto  the  next  day ; 
assemblage  pointing  ad  infimtum  seemingly, — had  not  some 
charitable  small  French  Governor,  from  his  bit  of  Island 
within  reach,  sent  over  a  Lieutenant  and  twenty  soldiers,  to 
extinguish  the  devouring  absurdity,  and  order  it  home 
straightway  to  its  bed.  Which  instantly  saved  this  valuable 
Possession  of  ours,  and  left  our  Demosthenic  Tinman  and 
his  Ten,  with  their  liberty  to  tax  themselves  as  heretofore. 
Is  not  "  Self-government  ^  a  sublime  thing,  in  Colonial 
Islands  and  some  others  ? — But  to  leave  all  this. 


I  almost  think,  when  once  we  have  made  the  Niagara  leap, 
the  better  kind  of  our  Nobility,  perhaps  after  experimenting, 
will  more  and  more  withdraw  themselves  from  the  Parlia- 
mentary, Oratorical  or  Political  element ;  leaving  that  to 
such  Cleon  the  Tanner  and  Company  as  it  rightfully  belongs 
to  ;  and  be  far  more  chary  of  their  speech  than  now.  Speech 
issuing  in  no  deed  is  hateful  and  contemptible  : — how  can  a 
man  have  any  nobleness  Avho  knows  not  that  ?  In  God's 
name,  let  us  find  out  what  of  noble  and  profitable  we  can  do ; 


SHOOTING   NIAGARA:    AND   AFTER?      19 

if  it  be  nothing,  let  us  at  least  keep  silence,  and  bear  grace- 
fully our  strange  lot  ! — 

The  English  Nobleman  has  still  left  in  him,  after  such 
sorrowful  erosions,  something  considerable  of  chivalry  and 
magnanimity  :  polite  he  is,  in  the  finest  form  ;  politeness, 
modest,  simple,  veritable,  ineradicable,  dwells  in  him  to  the 
bone ;  I  incline  to  call  him  the  politest  kind  of  nobleman  or 
man  (especially  his  wife  the  politest  and  gracefulest  kind  of 
woman)  you  will  find  in  any  country.  An  immense  endow- 
ment this,  if  you  consider  it  well !  A  very  great  and  in- 
dispensable help  to  whatever  other  faculties  of  kingship  a 
man  may  have.  Indeed  it  springs  from  them  all  (its  sources, 
every  kingly  faculty  lying  in  you) ;  and  is  as  the  beautiful 
natural  skin,  and  visible  sanction,  index  and  outcome  of  them 
all.  No  king  can  rule  without  it ;  none  but  potential  kings 
can  really  have  it.  In  the  crude,  what  we  call  unbred  or 
Orson  form,  all  '  men  of  genius '  have  it ;  but  see  what  it 
avails  some  of  them, — your  Samuel  Johnson,  for  instance, — 
in  that  crude  form,  who  was  so  rich  in  it,  too,  in  the  crude 
way ! 

Withal  it  is  perhaps  a  fortunate  circumstance,  that  the 
population  has  no  wild  notions,  no  political  enthusiasms  of 
a  "  New  Era "  or  the  like.  This,  though  in  itself  a  dreary 
and  ignoble  item,  in  respect  of  the  revolutionary  Many,  may 
nevertheless  be  for  good,  if  the  Few  shall  be  really  high  and 
brave,  as  things  roll  on. 

Certain  it  is,  there  is  nothing  but  vulgarity  in  our  People's 
expectations,  resolutions  or  desires,  in  this  Epoch.  It  is  all 
a  peaceable  mouldering  or  tumbling  down  from  mere  rotten- 
ness and  decay ;  whether  slowly  mouldering  or  rapidly 
tumbling,  there  will  be  nothing  found  of  real  or  true  in  the 
rubbish-heap,  but  a  most  true  desire  of  making  money  easily, 
and  of  eating  it  pleasantly.  A  poor  ideal  for  "  reformers," 
sure  enough.  But  it  is  the  fruit  of  long  antecedents,  too ; 
and  from  of  old,  our  habits  in  regard  to  "  reformation,"  or 


20  MISCELLANIES 

repairing  what  went  wrong  (as  something  is  always  doiugj, 
have  been  strangely  didactic  !  And  to  such  length  have  we 
at  last  brought  it,  by  our  wilful,  conscious,  and  now  long- 
continued  method  of  using  varnish^  instead  of  actual  repair 
by  honest  carpentry^  of  what  we  all  knew  and  saw  to  have 
gone  undeniably  wrong  in  our  procedures  and  affairs ! 
Method  deliberately,  steadily,  and  even  solemnly  continued, 
with  much  admiration  of  it  from  ourselves  and  others,  as  the 
best  and  only  good  one,  for  above  two  hundred  years. 

Ever  since  that  annus  mirabilis  of  1660,  when  Oliver 
Cromwell's  dead  clay  was  hung  on  the  gibbet,  and  a  much 
easier  "reign  of  Christ"  under  the  divine  gentleman  called 
Charles  ii.  was  thought  the  fit  thing,  this  has  been  our 
steady  method  :  varnish,  varnish ;  if  a  thing  have  grown 
so  rotten  that  it  yawns  palpable,  and  is  so  inexpressibly  ugly 
that  the  eyes  of  the  very  populace  discern  it  and  detest  it, — 
bring  out  a  new  pot  of  varnish,  with  the  requisite  supply 
of  putty  ;  and  lay  it  on  handsomely.  Don't  spare  varnish  ; 
how  well  it  will  all  look  in  a  few  days,  if  laid  on  well ! 
Varnish  alone  is  cheap  and  is  safe ;  avoid  carpentering, 
chiselling,  sawing  and  hammering  on  the  old  quiet  House ; — 
dry-rot  is  in  it,  who  knows  how  deep ;  don't  disturb  the  old 
beams  and  junctures  :  varnish,  varnish,  if  you  will  be  blessed 
by  gods  and  men  !  This  is  called  the  Constitutional  System, 
Conservative  System,  and  other  fine  names  ;  and  this  at  last 
has  its  fruits, — such  as  we  see.  Mendacity  hanging  in  the 
very  air  we  breathe  ;  all  men  become,  unconsciously  or  half 
or  wholly  consciously,  liars  to  their  own  souls  and  to  other 
men's ;  grimacing,  finessing,  periphrasing,  in  continual  hypo- 
crisy of  word,  by  way  of  varnish  to  continual  past,  present, 
future  misperformance  of  thing: — clearly  sincere  about 
nothing  whatever,  except  in  silence,  about  the  appetites  of 
their  own  huge  belly,  and  the  readiest  method  of  assuaging 
these.  From  a  Population  of  that  sunk  kind,  ardent  only 
in  pursuits  that  are  low  and  in  industries  that  are  sensuous 
and  beaverish,  there  is  little  peril  of  human  enthusiasms,  or 


SHOOTING   NIAGARA:    AND   AFTER?      21 

revolutionary  transports,  such  as  occurred  in  1789,  for 
instance.  A  low-minded  pecus  all  that ;  essentially  torpid 
and  ignavum^  on  all  that  is  high  or  nobly  human  in  revolu- 
tions. 

It  is  true  there  is  in  such  a  population,  of  itself,  no  help 
at  all  towards  reconstruction  of  the  wreck  of  your  Niagara 
plunge ;  of  themselves  they,  with  whatever  cry  of  "  liberty  " 
in  their  mouths,  are  inexorably  marked  by  Destiny  as  slaves ; 
and  not  even  the  immortal  gods  could  make  them  free, — 
except  by  making  them  anew  and  on  a  different  pattern.  No 
help  in  them  at  all,  to  your  model  Aristocrat,  or  to  any 
noble  man  or  thing.  But  then  likewise  there  is  no  hindrance, 
or  a  minimum  of  it  !  Nothing  there  in  bar  of  the  noble 
Few,  who  we  always  trust  will  be  born  to  us,  generation  after 
generation  ;  and  on  whom  and  whose  living  of  a  noble  and 
valiantly  cosmic  life  amid  the  worst  impediments  and  hugest 
anarchies,  the  whole  of  our  hope  depends.  Yes,  on  them 
only  !  If  amid  the  thickest  welter  of  surrounding  gluttony 
and  baseness,  and  what  must  be  reckoned  bottomless  anarchy 
from  shore  to  shore,  there  be  found  no  man,  no  small  but 
invincible  minority  of  men,  capable  of  keeping  themselves 
free  from  all  that,  and  of  living  a  heroically  human  life, 
while  the  millions  round  them  are  noisily  living  a  mere 
beaverish  or  doglike  one,  then  truly  all  hope  is  gone.  But 
we  always  struggle  to  believe  Not.  Aristocracy  by  title,  by 
fortune  and  position,  who  can  doubt  but  there  are  still 
precious  possibilities  among  the  chosen  of  that  class  ?  And 
if  that  fail  us,  there  is  still,  we  hope,  the  unclassed  Aristo- 
cracy by  nature,  not  inconsiderable  in  numbers,  and  supreme 
in  faculty,  in  wisdom,  human  talent,  nobleness  and  courage, 
'  who  derive  their  patent  of  nobility  direct  from  Almighty 
God.'  If  indeed  these  also  fail  us,  and  are  trodden  out 
under  the  unanimous  torrent  of  brutish  hoofs  and  hobnails, 
and  cannot  vindicate  themselves  into  clearness  here  and  there, 
but  at  length  cease  even  to  try  it, — then  indeed  it  is  all 
ended  :   national  death,  scandalous  '  Copper- Captaincy '  as  of 


22  MISCELLANIES 

France,  stern  Russian  Abolition  and  Erasure  as  of  Poland ; 
in  one  form  or  another,  well  deserved  annihilation,  and  dis- 
missal from  God's  universe,  that  and  nothing  else  lies  ahead 
for  our  once  heroic  England  too. 

How  many  of  our  Titular  Aristocracy  will  prove  real  gold 
when  thrown  into  the  crucible?  That  is  always  a  highly 
interesting  question  to  me ;  and  my  answer,  or  guess,  has 
still  something  considerable  of  hope  lurking  in  it.  But  the 
question  as  to  our  Aristocracy  by  Patent  from  God  the 
Maker,  is  infinitely  interesting.  How  many  of  these,  amid 
the  ever-increasing  bewilderments,  and  welter  of  impediments, 
will  be  able  to  develop  themselves  into  something  of  Heroic 
Well-doing  by  act  and  by  word  ?  How  many  of  them  will 
be  drawn,  pushed  and  seduced,  their  very  docility  and  loving- 
ness  assisting,  into  the  universal  vulgar  whirlpool  of  Parlia- 
menteering,  Newspapering,  Novel-writing,  Comte-Philosophy- 
ing,  immortal  Verse-writing,  etc.  etc.  (if  of  vocal  turn,  as  they 
mostly  will  be,  for  some  time  yet)  ?  How  many,  by  their 
too  desperate  resistance  to  the  unanimous  vulgar  of  a  Public 
round  them,  will  become  spasmodic  instead  of  strong ;  and 
will  be  overset,  and  trodden  out,  under  the  hoofs  and  hob- 
nails above-said  ?  Will  there,  in  short,  prove  to  be  a  recog- 
nisable small  nucleus  of  Invincible  "Apiaroi  fighting  for  the 
Good  Cause,  in  their  various  wisest  ways,  and  never  ceasing 
or  slackening  till  they  die  ?  This  is  the  question  of  questions, 
on  which  all  turns ;  in  the  answer  to  this,  could  w^e  give  it 
clearly,  as  no  man  can,  lies  the  oracle-response,  "  Life  for 
you,''  "  Death  for  you  ! "  Looking  into  this,  there  are  fearful 
dubitations  many.  But  considering  what  of  Piety,  the 
devoutest  and  the  bravest  yet  known,  there  once  was  in  Eng- 
land, and  how  extensively,  in  stupid,  maundering  and  de- 
graded forms,  it  still  lingers,  one  is  inclined  timidly  to  hope 
the  best ! 

The  best :  for  if  this  small  Aristocratic  nucleus  can  hold 
out  and  work,  it  is  in  the  sure  case  to  increase  and  increase ; 


SHOOTING   NIAGARA:    AND   AFTER?      23 

to  become  (as  Oliver  once  termed  it)  "  a  company  of  poor 
men,  who  will  spend  all  their  blood  rather,"  An  openly 
belligerent  company,  capable  at  last  of  taking  the  biggest 
slave  Nation  by  the  beard,  and  saying  to  it,  "  Enough,  ye 
slaves,  and  servants  of  the  mud-gods ;  all  this  must  cease  ! 
Our  heart  abhors  all  this  ;  our  soul  is  sick  under  it ;  God's 
curse  is  on  us  while  this  lasts.  Behold,  we  will  all  die  rather 
than  that  this  last.  Rather  all  die,  we  say  ; — what  is  your 
view  of  the  corresponding  alternative  on  your  own  part.?"  I  see 
well  it  must  at  length  come  to  battle ;  actual  fighting,  bloody 
wrestling,  and  a  great  deal  of  it :  but  were  it  unit  against 
thousand,  or  against  thousand-thousand,  on  the  above  terms, 
I  know  the  issue,  and  have  no  fear  about  it.  That  also  is  an 
issue  which  has  been  often  tried  in  Human  History ;  and, 
<  while  God  lives ' — (I  hope  the  phrase  is  not  yet  obsolete, 
for  the  fact  is  eternal,  though  so  many  have  forgotten  it  !) — 
said  issue  can  or  will  fall  only  one  way. 

VI 

What  we  can  expect  this  Aristocracy  of  Nature  to  do  for 
us  ?  They  are  of  two  kinds  :  the  Speculative,  speaking  or 
vocal ;  and  the  Practical  or  industrial,  whose  function  is  silent. 
These  are  of  brother  quality ;  but  they  go  very  different 
roads:  'men  of  genius''  they  all  emphatically  are,  the  'in- 
spired Gift  of  God'  lodged  in  each  of  them.  They  do 
infinitely  concern  the  world  and  us  ;  especially  that  first  or 
speaking  class, — provided  God  have  '  touched  their  lips  with 
his  hallowed  fire ' !  Supreme  is  the  importance  of  these. 
They  are  our  inspired  speakers  and  seers,  the  light  of  the 
world  ;  who  are  to  deliver  the  world  from  its  swarmeries,  its 
superstitions  (political  or  other)  ; — priceless  and  indispensable 
to  us  that  first  Class  ! 

Nevertheless  it  is  not  of  these  I  mean  to  sjjeak  at  present ; 
the  topic  is  far  too  wide,  nor  is  the  call  to  it  so  immediately 
pressing.      These  Sons  of  Wisdom,  gifted   to  speak   as   with 


24  MISCELLANIES 

hallowed  lips  a  real  God's-message  to  us, — I  don't  much 
expect  they  will  be  numerous,  for  a  long  while  yet,  nor  even 
perhaps  appear  at  all  in  this  time  of  swanneries,  or  be  disposed 
to  speak  their  message  to  such  audience  as  there  is.  And  if 
they  did,  I  know  well  it  is  not  from  my  advice,  or  any  mortal's, 
that  they  could  learn  their  feasible  way  of  doing  it.  For  a 
great  while  yet,  most  of  them  will  fly  off  into  "  Literature," 
into  what  they  call  Art,  Poetry  and  the  like  ;  and  will  mainly 
waste  themselves  in  that  inane  region, — fallen  so  inane  in 
our  mad  era.  Alas,  though  born  Sons  of  Wisdom,  they  are 
not  exempt  from  all  our  '  Swarmeries,'  but  only  from  the 
grosser  kinds  of  them.  This  of  "  Art,"  "  Poetry "  and  so 
forth,  is  a  refined  Swarmery ;  the  most  refined  now  going ; 
and  comes  to  us,  in  venerable  form,  from  a  distance  of  above 
a  thousand  years.  And  is  still  undoubtingly  sanctioned, 
canonised  and  marked  sacred,  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  cul- 
tivated persons  to  this  hour.  How  stir  such  questions  in  the 
present  limits  ?  Or  in  fact,  what  chance  is  there  that  a  guess 
of  mine,  in  regard  to  what  these  born  Sons  of  Wisdom  in  a 
yet  unborn  section  of  Time  will  say,  or  to  how  they  will  say 
it,  should  avail  in  the  least  my  own  contemporaries,  much 
less  them  or  theirs .?  Merely  on  a  point  or  two  I  will  hint 
what  my  poor  wish  is  ;  and  know  well  enough  that  it  is  the 
drawing  a  bow,  not  at  a  venture  indeed,  but  into  the  almost 
utterly  dark. 

First,  then,  with  regard  to  Art,  Poetry  and  the  like,  which 
at  present  is  esteemed  the  supreme  of  aims  for  vocal  genius, 
I  hope  my  literary  Anstos  will  pause,  and  seriously  make 
question  before  embarking  on  that ;  and  perhaps  will  end,  in 
spite  of  the  Swarmeries  abroad,  by  devoting  his  divine  faculty 
to  something  far  higher,  far  more  vital  to  us.  Poetry  ?  It 
is  not  pleasant  singing  that  we  want,  but  wise  and  earnest 
speaking : — '  Art,'  '  High  Art,'  etc.  are  very  fine  and  orna- 
mental, but  only  to  persons  sitting  at  their  ease :  to  persons 
still  wrestling  with  deadly  chaos,  and  still  fighting  for  dubious 
existence,  they  are  a  mockery  rather.     Our  Aristos,  well  medi- 


SHOOTING  NIAGARA:    AND   AFTER?      25 

tating,  will  perhaps  discover  that  the  genuine  '  Art '  in  all 
times  is  a  higher  synonym  for  God  Almighty's  Facts, — which 
come  to  us  direct  from  Heaven,  but  in  so  abstruse  a  condi- 
tion, and  cannot  be  read  at  all  till  the  better  intellect  in- 
terpret them.  That  is  the  real  function  of  our  Aristos  and 
of  his  divine  gift.  Let  him  think  well  of  this  !  He  will 
find  that  all  real  '  Art '  is  definable  as  Fact,  or  say  as  the 
disimprisoned  '  Soul  of  Fact ' ;  that  any  other  kind  of  Art, 
Poetry  or  High  Art  is  quite  idle  in  comparison. 

The  Bible  itself  has,  in  all  changes  of  theory  about  it,  this 
as  its  highest  distinction,  that  it  is  the  truest  of  all  Books ; — 
Book  springing,  every  word  of  it,  from  the  intensest  con- 
victions, from  the  very  heart's  core,  of  those  who  penned  it. 
And  has  not  that  been  a  "successful"  Book.?  Did  all 
the  Paternoster -Rows  of  the  world  ever  hear  of  one  so 
"  successful ""  !  Homer's  Iliad,  too,  that  great  Bundle  of  old 
Greek  Ballads,  is  nothing  of  a  Fiction ;  it  is  the  tr^iest  a 
Patriotic  Balladsinger,  rapt  into  paroxysm  and  enthusiasm  for 
the  honour  of  his  native  Country  and  native  Parish,  could 
manage  to  sing.  To  '  sing,'  you  will  observe  ;  always  sings, — 
pipe  often  rusty,  at  a  loss  for  metre  (flinging-in  his  rye,  fjuev, 
Se) ;  a  rough,  laborious,  wallet-bearing  man ;  but  with  his 
heart  rightly  on  fire,  when  the  audience  goes  with  him,  and 
'  hangs  on  him  with  greed '  (as  he  says  they  often  do). 
Homer's  Iliad  I  almost  reckon  next  to  the  Bible ;  so 
stubbornly  sincere  is  it  too,  though  in  a  far  different  element, 
and  a  far  shallower. 

"Fiction," — my  friend,  you  will  be  surprised  to  discover 
at  last  what  alarming  cousinship  it  has  to  Lying :  don't  go 
into  "  Fiction,"  you  Aristos,  nor  concern  yourself  with  "  Fine 
Literature,"  or  Coarse  ditto,  or  the  unspeakable  glories 
and  rewards  of  pleasing  your  generation  ;  which  you  are 
not  sent  hither  to  please,  first  of  all  !  In  general,  leave 
"  Literature,"  the  thing  called  "  Literature "  at  present,  to 
run  through  its  rapid  fermentations  (how  more  and  more 
rapid  they  are  in  these  years  !),  and  to  fluff  itself  off  into 


26  MISCELLANIES 

Nothing,  in  its  own  way, — like  a  poor  bottle  of  soda-water 
with  the  cork  sprung ; — it  won't  be  long.  In  our  time  it 
has  become  all  the  rage ;  highest  nobleman  and  dignitaries 
courting  a  new  still  higher  glory  there ;  innumerable  men, 
women  and  children  rushing  towards  it,  yearly  ever  more.  It 
sat  painfully  in  Grub  Street,  in  hungry  garrets,  so  long ; 
some  few  heroic  martyrs  always  serving  in  it,  among  such  a 
miscellany  of  semi -fatuous  worthless  ditto,  courting  the 
bubble  reputation  in  ivorse  than  the  cannon's  mouth ;  in 
general,  a  very  flimsy,  foolish  set.  But  that  little  company 
of  martyrs  has  at  last  lifted  Literature  furiously  or  foamingly 
high  in  the  world.  Goes  like  the  Iceland  geysers  in  our 
time, — like  uncorked  soda-water ; — and  will,  as  I  said,  soon 
have  done.  Only  wait :  in  fifty  years,  I  should  guess,  all 
really  serious  souls  will  have  quitted  that  mad  province,  left 
it  to  the  roaring  populaces ;  and  for  any  Nohle-wMxw  or  useful 
person  it  will  be  a  credit  rather  to  declare,  "  I  never  tried 
Literature  ;  believe  me,  I  have  not  written  anything  ; '" — and 
we  of  "  Literature  "  by  trade,  we  shall  sink  again,  I  perceive, 
to  the  rank  of  street-fiddling  ;  no  higher  rank,  though  with 
endless  increase  of  sixpences  flung  into  the  hat.  Of 
"  Literature  "  keep  well  to  windward,  my  serious  friend  ! — 

"  But  is  not  Shakspeare  the  highest  genius  ? "  Yes,  of 
all  the  Intellects  of  Mankind  that  have  taken  the  speaking 
shape,  I  incline  to  think  him  the  most  divinely  gifted ; 
clear,  all-piercing  like  the  sunlight,  lovingly  melodious ; 
probably  the  noblest  human  Intellect  in  that  kind.  And 
yet  of  Shakspeare  too,  it  is  not  the  Fiction  that  I  admire, 
but  the  Fact ;  to  say  truth,  what  I  most  of  all  admire  are 
the  traces  he  shows  of  a  talent  that  could  have  turned  the 
History  of  England  into  a  kind  of  Iliad,  almost  perhaps  into 
a  kind  of  Bible.  Manifest  traces  that  way ;  something  of 
epic  in  the  cycle  of  hasty  Fragments  he  has  yielded  us  (slaving 
for  his  bread  in  the  Bankside  Theatre) ; — and  what  a  work 
wouldn't  that  have  been  !  Marlborough  said.  He  knew  no 
English  History  but  what  he  had  got  from   Shakspeare ; — 


SHOOTING   NIAGARA:    AND   AFTER?      27 

and  truly  that  is  still  essentially  the  serious  and  sad  fact  for 
most  of  us ;  Fact  thrice  and  four  times  lamentable,  though 
Marlborough  meant  it  lightly.  Innumerable  grave  Books 
there  are  ;  but  for  none  of  us  any  real  History  of  England, 
intelligible,  profitable,  or  even  conceivable  in  almost  any 
section  of  it ! 

To  write  the  History  of  England  as  a  kind  of  Bible  (or 
in  parts  and  snatches,  to  sing  it  if  you  could),  this  were 
work  for  the  highest  Aristos  or  series  of  Aristoi  in  Sacred 
Literature  (really  a  sacred  kind,  this) ;  and  to  be  candid,  I 
discover  hitherto  no  incipiences  of  this ;  and  greatly  desire 
that  there  were  some  !  Some  I  do  expect  (too  fondly  perhaps, 
but  they  seem  to  me  a  sine  qua  non)  from  the  Writing  and 
Teaching  Heroes  that  will  yet  be  born  to  us.  For  England 
too  (equally  with  any  Judah  whatsoever)  has  a  History  that  is 
Divine  ;  an  Eternal  Providence  presiding  over  every  step  of  it, 
now  in  sunshine  and  soft  tones,  now  in  thunder  and  storm, 
audible  to  millions  of  awe-struck  valiant  hearts  in  the  ages 
that  are  gone ;  guiding  England  forward  to  its  goal  and 
work,  which  too  has  been  highly  considerable  in  the  world  ! 
The  "  interpretation  "  of  all  which,  in  the  present  ages,  has 
(what  is  the  root  of  all  our  woes)  fallen  into  such  a  set  of 
hands !  Interpretation  scandalously  ape-like,  I  must  say ; 
impious,  blasphemous; — totally  incredible  Avithal.  Which 
Interpretation  will  have  to  become  pious  and  human  again, 
or  else — or  else  vanish  into  the  Bottomless  Pit,  and  carry  us 
and  our  England  along  with  it !  This,  some  incipiences  of 
this,  I  gradually  expect  from  the  Heroes  that  are  coming. 
And  in  fact  this,  taken  in  full  compass,  is  the  one  thing 
needed  from  them  ;  and  all  other  things  are  but  branches 
of  this. 

For  example,  I  expect,  as  almost  the  first  thing,  new 
definitions  of  Liberty  from  them  ;  gradual  extinction,  slow 
but  steady,  of  the  stupid  ^  swarmeries''  of  mankind  on  this 
matter,  and  at  length  a  complete  change  of  their  notions  on 
it.       '  Superstition    and    idolatry,'    sins    real    and    grievous, 


28  MISCELLANIES 

sins  ultimately  ruinous,  wherever  found,  —  this  is  now  our 
English,  our  Modern  European  form  of  them  ;  Political,  not 
Theological  now !  England,  Modern  Europe,  will  have  to 
quit  them  or  die.  They  are  sins  of  a  fatal  slow-poisonous 
nature  ;  not  permitted  in  this  Universe.  The  poison  of  them 
is  not  intellectual  dimness  chiefly,  but  torpid  unveracity  of 
heart :  not  mistake  of  road,  but  want  of  pious  earnestness 
in  seeking  your  road.  Insincerity,  unfaithfulness,  impiety  : 
— careless  tumbling  and  buzzing  about,  in  blind,  noisy, 
pleasantly  companionable  '  swarms,'  instead  of  solitary  ques- 
tioning of  yourself  and  of  the  Silent  Oracles,  which  is  a  sad, 
sore  and  painful  duty,  though  a  much  incumbent  one  upon  a 
man.  The  meaning  of  Liberty,  what  it  veritably  signifies 
in  the  speech  of  men  and  gods,  will  gradually  begin  to 
appear  again  ?  Were  that  once  got,  the  eye  of  England 
were  couched ;  poor  honest  England  would  again  see, — I  will 
fancy  with  Avhat  horror  and  amazement,  —  the  thing  she 
had  grown  to  in  this  interim  of  swarmeries.  To  show  this 
poor  well-meaning  England,  Whom  it  were  desirable  to 
furnish  with  a  "  suffrage,"  and  Whom  with  a  dog-muzzle  (and 
plenty  of  fresh  water  on  the  streets),  against  rabidity  in  the 
hot  weather  : — what  a  work  for  our  Hero  speakers  that  are 
coming  ! — 

I  hope  also  they  will  attack  earnestly,  and  at  length 
extinguish  and  eradicate,  this  idle  habit  of  "  accounting  for 
the  Moral  Sense,"  as  they  phrase  it.  A  most  singular 
problem  : — instead  of  bending  every  thought  to  have  more 
and  ever  more  of  "  Moral  Sense,"  and  therewith  to  irradiate 
your  own  poor  soul,  and  all  its  work,  into  something  of 
divineness,  as  the  one  thing  needful  to  you  in  this  world  !  A 
very  futile  problem  that  other,  my  friends ;  futile,  idle,  and 
far  worse  ;  leading  to  what  Moral  Ruin  you  little  dream  of ! 
The  Moral  Sense,  thank  God,  is  a  thing  you  never  will 
"  account  for " ;  that,  if  you  could  think  of  it,  is  the 
perennial  Miracle  of  Man  ;  in  all  times,  visibly  connecting 
poor  transitory  Man   here  on  this  bewildered  Earth  with  his 


SHOOTING   NIAGARA:    AND  AFTER?      29 

Maker,  who  is  Eternal  in  the  Heavens.  Ry  no  Greatest 
Happiness  Principle,  Greatest  Nobleness  Principle,  or  any 
Principle  whatever,  will  you  make  that  in  the  least  clearer 
than  it  already  is ; — forbear,  I  say ;  or  you  may  darJcen  it 
away  from  you  altogether  !  '  Two  things,'  says  the  memor- 
able Kant,  deepest  and  most  logical  of  Metaphysical  Thinkers, 
'  Two  things  strike  me  dumb  :  the  infinite  Starry  Heaven  ;  and 
the  Sense  of  Right  and  Wrong  in  Man.'  ^  Visible  Infinities, 
both;  sai/  nothing  of  them  ;  don't  try  to  "account  for  them  "  ; 
for  you  can  say  nothing  wise. 

On  the  whole,  I  hope  our  Hero  will,  by  heroic  word,  and 
heroic  thought  and  act,  make  manifest  to  mankind  that 
'  Reverence  for  God  and  for  Man '  is  not  yet  extinct,  but 
only  fallen  into  disastrous  comatose  sleep,  and  hideously 
dreaming ;  that  the  '  Christian  Religion  itself  is  not  dead,' 
that  the  soul  of  it  is  alive  forevermore, — and  only  the  dead 
and  rotting  body  of  it  is  now  getting  burial.  The  noblest 
of  modern  Intellects,  by  far  the  noblest  we  have  had  since 
Shakspeare  left  us,  has  said  of  this  Religion  :  '  It  is  a  Height 
to  which  the  Human  Species  were  fitted  and  destined  to 
attain  ;  and  from  which,  having  once  attained  it,  they  can 
never  retrograde.'  Permanently,  never.  Never,  thei/ ; — though 
individual  Nations  of  them  fatally  ca7i ;  of  which  I  hope 
poor  England  is  not  one  ?  Though,  here  as  elsewhere, 
the  6Mria/-process  does  offer  ghastly  enough  phenomena ; 
Ritualisms,  Puseyisms,  Arches-Court  Lawsuits,  Cardinals  of 
Westminster,  etc.  etc.  ;  —  making  night  hideous  !  For  a 
time  and  times  and  half  a  time,  as  the  old  Prophets  used 
to  say. 

One  of  my  hoping  friends,  yet  more  sanguine  than  I  fully 

dare  to  be,  has  these  zealous  or  enthusiast  w^ords  :   '  A  very 

^  '  Zwei  Dinge  erfiillen  das  Gemlith  mit  immer  neuer  und  zunehmender 
Bewunderung  und  Ehrfurcht,  je  ofter  und  anhaltender  sich  das  Nachdenken 
damit  beschaftigt :  der  bestirnte  Himmel  iiber  mir,  und  das  moralische  Gesetz 
in  tnir,^  .  .  .  u.s.w,  Kant's  Sdmmtliche  Werke  (Rosenkranz  and  Schubert's 
edition,  Leipzig,  1838),  viii.  312. 


30  MISCELLANIES 

great  "  work,"  surely,  is  going  on  in  these  days, — has  been 
begun,  and  is  silently  proceeding,  and  cannot  easily  stop^ 
under  all  the  flying  dungheaps  of  this  new  "  Battle  of  the 
Giants"  flinging  their  Dung-Ye\\on  on  their  Dung-Ossa,  in 
these  ballot-boxing,  Nigger-emancipating,  empty,  dirt-eclipsed 
days  : — no  less  a  "  work "  than  that  of  restoring  God  and 
whatever  was  Godlike  in  the  traditions  and  recorded  doings 
of  Mankind ;  dolefully  forgotten,  or  sham-remembered,  as  it 
has  been,  for  long  degraded  and  degrading  hundreds  of  years, 
latterly !  Actually  this,  if  you  understand  it  well.  The 
essential,  still  awful  and  ever-blessed  Fact  of  all  that  was 
meant  by  "  God  and  the  Godlike""  to  men's  souls  is  again 
struggling  to  become  clearly  revealed ;  will  extricate  itself 
from  what  some  of  us,  too  irreverently  in  our  impatience, 
call  "  Hebrew  old-clothes  "  ;  and  will  again  bless  the  Nations  ; 
and  heal  them  from  their  basenesses,  and  unendurable  woes, 
and  wanderings  in  the  company  of  madness !  This  Fact 
lodges,  not  exclusively  or  specially  in  Hebrew  Garnitures, 
Old  or  New ;  but  in  the  Heart  of  Nature  and  of  Man  for- 
evermore.  And  is  not  less  certain,  here  at  this  hour,  than 
it  ever  was  at  any  Sinai  whatsoever.  Kanfs  "  Two  things  that 
strike  me  dumb " ; — these  are  perceptible  at  Konigsberg  in 
Prussia,  or  at  Charing-cross  in  London.  And  all  eyes  shall 
yet  see  them  better ;  and  the  heroic  Few,  who  are  the  salt  of 
the  earth,  shall  at  length  see  them  xoell.  With  results  for 
everybody.  A  great  "  work  "  indeed  ;  the  greatness  of  which 
beggars  all  others  ! ' 

VII 

Of  the  second,  or  silent  Industrial  Hero,  I  may  now  say 
something,  as  more  within  my  limits  and  the  reader's. 

This  Industrial  hero,  here  and  there  recognisable  and 
known  to  me,  as  developing  himself,  and  as  an  opulent  and 
dignified  kind  of  man,  is  already  almost  an  Aristocrat  by 
class.  And  if  his  chivalry  is  still  somewhat  in  the  Orson  form, 
he  is  already  by  intermarriage   and  otherwise   coming   into 


SHOOTING   NIAGARA:    AND   AFTER?       31 

contact  with  the  Aristocracy  by  title  ;  and  by  degrees  will 
acquire  the  fit  Valentinism,  and  other  more  important  advan- 
tages there.  He  cannot  do  better  than  unite  with  this 
naturally  noble  kind  of  Aristocrat  by  title ;  the  Industrial 
noble  and  this  one  are  brothers  born ;  called  and  impelled  to 
cooperate  and  go  together.  Their  united  result  is  what  we 
want  from  both.  And  the  Noble  of  the  Future, — if  there 
be  any  such,  as  I  well  discern  there  must, — will  have  grown 
out  of  both.  A  new  "  Valentine  "  ;  and  perhaps  a  consider- 
ably improved, — by  such  yrcontact  with  his  wild  Orson 
kinsman,  and  with  the  earnest  veracities  this  latter  has 
learned  in  the  Woods  and  the  Dens  of  Bears. 

The  Practical  '  man  of  genius '  will  probably  not  be  alto- 
gether absent  from  the  Reformed  Parliament : — his  Make- 
believe,  the  vulgar  millionaire  (truly  a  "  bloated "  specimen, 
this ! )  is  sure  to  be  frequent  there ;  and  along  with  the 
multitude  of  brass  guineas,  it  will  be  very  salutary  to  have  a 
gold  one  or  two  ! — In  or  out  of  Parliament,  our  Practical 
hero  will  find  no  end  of  work  ready  for  him.  It  is  he  that 
has  to  recivilise,  out  of  its  now  utter  savagery,  the  world  of 
Industry ; — think  what  a  set  of  items  :  To  change  7wmadic 
contract  into  permanent ;  to  annihilate  the  soot  and  dirt  and 
squalid  horror  now  defacing  this  England,  once  so  clean  and 
comely  while  it  was  poor ;  matters  sanitary  (and  that  not  to 
the  body  only)  for  his  people  ;  matters  governmental  for  them  ; 
matters  etc.  etc.: — no  Avant  of  work  for  this  Hero,  through  a 
great  many  generations  yet ! 

And  indeed  Reformed  Parliament  itself,  with  or  without 
his  presence,  will,  you  would  suppose,  have  to  start  at  once 
upon  the  Industrial  question  and  go  quite  deep  into  it. 
That  of  Trades  Union,  in  quest  of  its  "  Four  eights,"  ^  with 
assassin  pistol  in  its  hand,  will  at  once  urge  itself  on  Reformed 
Parliament :  and  Reformed  Parliament  will  give  us  Blue  Books 

^  '*  Eight  hours  to  work,  eight  hours  to  play, 

Eight  hours  to  sleep,  and  eight  shillings  a  day  ! " 

Reformed  Workman^ s  Pisgah  Sotig, 


32  MISCELLANIES 

upon  it,  if  nothing  farther.  Nay,  ahnost  still  more  urgent, 
and  what  I  could  reckon, — as  touching  on  our  Ark  of  the 
Covenant,  on  sacred  "  Free  Trade "  itself, — to  be  the  pre- 
liminary of  all,  there  is  the  immense  and  universal  question 
of  Cheap  and  Nasty.      Let  me  explain  it  a  little. 

"  Cheap  and  nasty ; "  there  is  a  pregnancy  in  that  poor 
vulgar  proverb,  which  I  wish  we  better  saw  and  valued  !  It 
is  the  rude  indignant  protest  of  human  nature  against  a 
mischief  which,  in  all  times  and  places,  haunts  it  or  lies  near 
it,  and  which  never  in  any  time  or  place  was  so  like  utterly 
overwhelming  it  as  here  and  now.  Understand,  if  you  will 
consider  it,  that  no  good  man  did,  or  ever  should,  encourage 
"  cheapness  *"  at  the  ruinous  expense  of  unfitness,  which  is 
always  infidelity,  and  is  dishonourable  to  a  man.  If  I  want 
an  article,  let  it  be  genuine,  at  whatever  price ;  if  the  price 
is  too  high  for  me,  I  will  go  without  it,  unequipped  with  it 
for  the  present, — I  shall  not  have  equipped  myself  with  a 
hypocrisy,  at  any  rate  !  This,  if  you  will  reflect,  is  primarily 
the  rule  of  all  purchasing  and  all  producing  men.  They 
are  not  permitted  to  encourage,  patronise,  or  in  any  form 
countenance  the  working,  wearing  or  acting  of  Hypocrisies  in 
this  world.  On  the  contrary,  they  are  to  hate  all  such  with 
a  perfect  hatred ;  to  do  their  best  in  extinguishing  them  as 
the  poison  of  mankind.  This  is  the  temper  for  purchasers  of 
work  :  how  much  more  for  that  of  doers  and  producers  of  it ! 
Work,  every  one  of  you,  like  the  Demiurgus  or  Eternal 
World -builder ;  work,  none  of  you,  like  the  Diabolus  or 
Denier  and  Destroyer, — under  penalties  ! 

And  now,  if  this  is  the  fact,  that  you  are  not  to  purchase, 
to  make  or  to  vend  any  ware  or  product  of  the  "  cheap  and 
nasty  "  genus,  and  cannot  in  any  case  do  it  without  sin,  and 
even  treason  against  the  Maker  of  you, — consider  what  a 
quantity  of  sin,  of  treason,  petty  and  high,  must  be  accumu- 
lating in  poor  England  every  day !  It  is  certain  as  the 
National  Debt ;  and  what  are  all  National  money  Debts,  in 
comparison !      Do   you    know  the   shop,  saleshop,   workshop, 


SHOOTING   NIAGARA:    AND   AFTER?       33 

industrial  establishment  temporal  or  spiritual,  in  broad 
England,  where  genuine  work  is  to  be  had  ?  I  confess  I 
hardly  do ;  the  more  is  my  sorrow  !  For  a  whole  Pandora's 
Box  of  evils  lies  in  that  one  fact,  my  friend  ;  that  one  is 
enough  for  us,  and  may  be  taken  as  the  sad  summary  of  all. 
Universal  slioddy  and  DeviPs-dust  cunningly  varnished  over ; 
that  is  what  you  will  find  presented  you  in  all  places,  as 
ware  invitingly  cheap,  if  your  experience  is  like  mine.  Yes  ; 
if  Free  Trade  is  the  new  religion,  and  if  Free  Trade  do  mean 
Free  racing  with  unlimited  velocity  in  the  career  of  Cheap  and 
Nasty^ — our  Practical  hero  will  be  not  a  little  anxious  to  deal 
with  that  question.  Infinitely  anxious  to  see  how  "  Free 
Trade,""  with  such  a  devil  in  the  belly  of  it,  is  to  be  got  tied 
again  a  little,  and  forbidden  to  make  a  very  brute  of  itself 
at  this  rate  ! 

Take  one  small  example  only.  London  bricks  are  reduced 
to  dry  clay  again  in  the  course  of  sixty  years,  or  sooner. 
BricJcs,  burn  them  rightly,  build  them  faithfully,  with  mortar 
faithfully  tempered,  they  will  stand,  I  believe,  barring  earth- 
quakes and  cannon,  for  6,000  years  if  you  like  !  Etruscan 
Pottery  (balied  clay,  but  rightly  baked)  is  some  3,000  years 
of  age,  and  still  fresh  as  an  infant.  Nothing  I  know  of  is 
more  lasting  than  a  well-made  brick ; — we  have  them  here,  at 
the  head  of  this  Garden  (wall  once  of  a  Manor  Park),  which 
are  in  their  third  or  fourth  century  (Henry  Eighth's  time,  I 
was  told),  and  still  perfect  in  every  particular. 

Truly  the  state  of  London  houses  and  London  housebuild- 
ing, at  this  time,  who  shall  express  how  detestable  it  is,  how 
frightful  !  "  Not  a  house  this  of  mine,"  said  one  indignant 
gentleman,  who  had  searched  the  London  Environs  all  around 
for  any  bit  of  Villa,  "Alphas-cottage  or  Omega,  which  were 
less  inhuman,  but  found  none  :  "  Not  a  built  house,  but  a 
congeries  of  plastered  bandboxes ;  shambling  askew  in  all 
joints  and  corners  of  it ;  creaking,  quaking  under  every  step  ; 
— filling  you  with  disgust  and  despair  ! "  For  there  lies  in 
it  not  the  Physical  mischief  only,  but  the  Moral  too,  which  is 

VOL.   V.  c 


34  MISCELLANIES 

far  more.  I  have  often  sadly  thought  of  this.  That  a  fresh 
human  soul  should  be  born  in  such  a  place ;  born  in  the 
midst  of  a  concrete  mendacity ;  taught  at  every  moment  not 
to  abhor  a  lie,  but  to  think  a  lie  all  proper,  the  fixed  custom 
and  general  law  of  man,  and  to  twine  its  young  affections 
round  that  sort  of  object ! 

England  needs  to  be  rebuilt  once  every  seventy  years. 
Build  it  once  rightly,  the  expense  will  be,  say  fifty  per  cent 
more ;  but  it  will  stand  till  the  Day  of  Judgment.  Every 
seventy  years  we  shall  save  the  expense  of  building  all  England 
over  again  !  Say  nine-tenths  of  the  expense,  say  three-fourths 
of  it  (allowing  for  the  changes  necessary  or  permissible  in  the 
change  of  things) ;  and  in  rigorous  arithmetic,  such  is  the 
saving  possible  to  you  ;  lying  under  your  nose  there ;  solicit- 
ing you  to  pick  it  up, — by  the  mere  act  of  behaving  like  sons 
of  Adam,  and  not  like  scandalous  esurient  Phantasms  and 
sons  of  Bel  and  the  Dragon, 

Here  is  a  thrift  of  money,  if  you  want  money  !  The 
money-saving  w^ould  (you  can  compute  in  what  short  length 
of  time)  pay  your  National  Debt  for  you ;  bridge  the  ocean 
for  you ;  wipe  away  your  smoky  nuisances,  your  muddy  ditto, 
your  miscellaneous  ditto,  and  make  the  face  of  England  clean 
again ; — and  all  this  I  reckon  as  mere  zero  in  comparison 
with  the  accompanying  improvement  to  your  poor  souls, — 
now  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,  drowned  in  beer-butts,  wine- 
butts,  in  gluttonies,  slaveries,  quackeries,  but  recalled  then  to 
blessed  life  again,  and  the  sight  of  Heaven  and  Earth,  instead 
of  Payday,  and  Meux  and  Co.'s  Entire.  Oh,  my  bewildered 
Brothers,  what  foul  infernal  Circe  has  come  over  you,  and 
changed  you  from  men  once  really  rather  noble  of  their  kind, 
into  beavers,  into  hogs  and  asses,  and  beasts  of  the  field  or 
the  slum  !      I  declare  I  had  rather  die.   .   .   . 

One  hears  sometimes  of  religious  controversies  running 
very  high  ;  about  faith,  works,  grace,  prevenient  grace,  the 
Arches  Court  and  Essays  and  Revicxvs ; — into  none  of  which 
do  I  enter,  or  concern  myself  with  your  entering.      One  thing 


SHOOTING   NIAGARA:    AND   AFTER?       35 

I  will  remind  you  of,  That  the  essence  and  outcome  of"  all 
religions,  creeds  and  liturgies  Avhatsoever  is,  To  do  one's  work 
in  a  faithful  manner.  Unhappy  caitiff,  what  to  you  is  the 
use  of  orthodoxy,  if  with  every  stroke  of  your  hammer  you 
are  breaking  all  the  Ten  Commandments, — operating  upon 
DeviPs-dust,  and,  with  constant  invocation  of  the  Devil, 
endeavouring  to  reap  where  you  have  not  sown  ? — 

Truly,  I  think  our  Practical  Aristos  will  address  himself 
to  this  sad  question,  almost  as  the  primary  one  of  all.  It  is 
impossible  that  an  Industry,  national  or  personal,  carried  on 
under  '  constant  invocation  of  the  Devil,'  can  be  a  blessed  or 
happy  one  in  any  fibre  or  detail  of  it !  Steadily,  in  every 
fibre  of  it,  from  heart  to  skin,  that  is  and  remains  an  Industry 
accursed  ;  nothing  but  bewilderment,  contention,  misery, 
mutual  rage,  and  continually  advancing  ruin,  can  dwell  there. 
Cheap  and  Nasty  is  not  found  on  shop-counters  alone ;  but 
goes  down  to  the  centre,  —  or  indeed  springs  from  it. 
Overend-Gurney  Bankruptcies,  Chatham-and-Dover  Railway 
Financierings,  —  Railway  "  Promoters "  generally,  (ayd-  no 
oakum  or  beating  of  hemp  to  give  them,  instead  of  that 
nefarious  and  pernicious  industry) ;  —  Sheffield  Sawgrinders 
and  Assassination  Company ;  '  Four  eights,'  and  workman's 
Pisgah  Song  :  all  these  are  diabolic  short-cuts  towards  wages  ; 
clutchings  at  money  without  just  work  done  ;  all  these  are 
Cheap  and  Nasty  in  another  form.  The  glory  of  a  workman, 
still  more  of  a  master-workman.  That  he  does  his  work  well, 
ought  to  be  his  most  precious  possession  ;  like  "  the  honour 
of  a  soldier,"  dearer  to  him  than  life.  That  is  the  ideal  of 
the  matter  : — lying,  alas,  how  far  away  from  us  at  present ! 
But  if  you  yourself  demoralise  your  soldier,  and  teach  him 
continually  to  invoke  the  Evil  Genius  and  to  ffwhonour 
himself, — what  do  you  expect  your  big  Army  will  grow  to  ? — 

"  The  prestige  of  England  on  the  Continent,"  I  am  told,  is 
much  decayed  of  late ;  which  is  a  lamentable  thing  to  various 


36  MISCELLANIES 

Editors;  to  me  not.  '  Prestige,  prcestigium,  magical  illusion,** — 
I  never  understood  that  poor  England  had  in  her  good  days, 
or  cared  to  have,  any  ^^ prestige  on  the  Continent"  or  else- 
where ;  England  was  wont  to  follow  her  own  affairs  in  a 
diligent  heavy-laden  frame  of  mind,  and  had  an  almost 
perfect  stoicism  as  to  what  the  Continent,  and  its  extraneous 
ill-informed  populations  might  be  thinking  of  her.  Nor  is 
it  yet  of  the  least  real  importance  what  ^prestiges,  magical 
illusions,'  as  to  England,  foolish  neighbours  may  take  up  ; 
important  only  one  thing,  What  England  is.  The  account 
of  that  in  Heaven's  Chancery,  I  doubt,  is  very  bad  :  but  as 
to  ^^ prestige^''  I  hope  the  heart  of  the  poor  Country  would 
still  say  "  Away  with  your  prestige ;  that  won't  help  me  or 
hinder  me  !  The  word  was  Napoleonic,  expressive  enough  of 
a  Grand-Napoleonic  fact :  better  leave  it  on  its  own  side  of 
the  Channel ;  not  wanted  here  !  " 

Nevertheless,  unexpectedly,  I  have  myself  something  to 
tell  you  about  English  prestige.  "  In  my  young  time,"  said 
lately  to  me  one  of  the  wisest  and  faithfulest  German  Friends 
I  ever  had,  a  correct  observer,  and  much  a  lover  both  of  his 
own  country  and  of  mine,  "  In  my  boyhood  "  (that  is,  some 
fifty  yeai's  ago,  in  Wiirzburg  country,  and  Central  Germany), 
"  when  you  were  going  to  a  shop  to  purchase,  wise  people 
would  advise  you  :  '  If  you  can  find  an  English  article  of  the 
sort  wanted,  buy  that ;  it  will  be  a  few  pence  dearer ;  but 
it  will  prove  itself  a  well-made,  faithful  and  skilful  thing ;  a 
comfortable  servant  and  friend  to  you  for  a  long  time ;  better 
buy  that.'  And  now,"  continued  he,  "  directly  the  reverse 
is  the  advice  given  :  '  If  you  find  an  English  article,  don't 
buy  that ;  that  will  be  a  few  pence  cheaper,  but  it  will 
prove  only  a  more  cunningly  devised  mendacity  than  any  of 
the  others  ;  avoid  that  above  all.'  Both  were  good  advices  ; 
the  former  fifty  years  ago  was  a  good  advice ;  the  latter  is 
now."  Would  to  Heaven  this  were  a  prcestigium  or  magical 
illusion  only ! — 

But  to  return  to  our  Aristocracy  by  title. 


SHOOTING   NIAGARA:    AND  AFTER?      37 


VIII 

Orsonism  is  not  what  will  hinder  our  Aristocracy  from 
still  reigning,  still,  or  much  farther  than  now, — to  the  very 
utmost  limit  of  their  capabilities  and  opportunities,  in  the 
new  times  that  come.  What  are  these  opportunities, — 
granting  the  capability  to  be  (as  I  believe)  very  considerable 
if  seriously  exerted  ?  —  This  is  a  question  of  the  highest 
interest  just  now. 

In  their  own  Domains  and  land  territories,  it  is  evident 
each  of  them  can  still,  for  certain  years  and  decades,  be  a 
complete  king ;  and  may,  if  he  strenuously  try,  mould  and 
manage  everything,  till  both  his  people  and  his  dominion 
correspond  gradually  to  the  ideal  he  has  formed.  Refractory 
subjects  he  has  the  means  of  banishing-;  the  relations  between 
all  classes,  from  the  biggest  farmer  to  the  poorest  orphan 
ploughboy,  are  under  his  control ;  nothing  ugly  or  unjust  or 
improper,  but  he  could  by  degrees  undertake  steady  war 
against,  and  manfully  subdue  or  extirpate.  Till  all  his 
Domain  were,  through  every  field  and  homestead  of  it,  and 
were  maintained  in  continuing  and  being,  manlike,  decorous, 
fit ;  comely  to  the  eye  and  to  the  soul  of  whoever  wisely 
looked  on  it,  or  honestly  lived  in  it.  This  is  a  beautiful 
ideal ;  which  might  be  carried  out  on  all  sides  to  indefinite 
lengths,  not  in  management  of  land  only,  but  in  thousandfold 
countenancing,  protecting  and  encouraging  of  human  worth, 
and  rtfi^countenancing  and  sternly  repressing  the  want  of 
ditto,  wherever  met  with  among  surrounding  mankind.  Till 
the  whole  surroundings  of  a  nobleman  were  made  noble  like 
himself:  and  all  men  should  recognise  that  here  verily  was 
a  bit  of  kinghood  ruling  "  by  the  Grace  of  God,''  in  difficult 
circumstances,  but  not  in  vain. 

This  were  a  way,  if  this  were  commonly  adopted,  of  by 
degrees  reinstating  Aristocracy  in  all  the  privileges,  author- 
ities, reverences  and  honours  it  ever  had  in  its  palmiest  times, 


38  MISCELLANIES 

under  any  Kaiser  Barbarossa,  Henry  Fowler  {Heinrich  der 
Vogler),  Henry  Fine -Scholar  {Bemi-clerc),  or  Wilhelmus 
Bastardus  the  Acquirer :  this  would  be  divine ;  blessed  is 
every  individual  that  shall  manfully,  all  his  life,  solitary  or 
in  fellowship,  address  himself  to  this  !  But,  alas,  this  is  an 
ideal,  and  I  have  practically  little  faith  in  it.  Discerning 
well  howfeza  would  seriously  adopt  this  as  a  trade  in  life,  I 
can  only  say,  "  Blessed  is  every  one  that  does  ! " — Readers 
can  observe  that  only  zealous  aspirants  to  he  '  noble '  and 
worthy  of  their  title  (who  are  not  a  numerous  class)  could 
adopt  this  trade ;  and  that  of  these  few,  only  the  fewest, 
or  the  actually  nohle,  could  to  much  effect  do  it  when 
adopted.  '  Management  of  one's  land  on  this  principle,'  yes, 
in  some  degree  this  might  be  possible  :  but  as  to  '  fostering 
merit**  or  human  worth,  the  question  would  arise  (as  it  did 
with  a  late  Noble  Lord  still  in  wide  enough  esteem),^  "  What 
is  merit. '^  The  opinion  one  man  entertains  of  another!" 
[^Hear,  hear .']  By  this  plan  of  diligence  in  promoting  human 
worth,  you  would  do  little  to  redress  our  griefs ;  this  plan 
would  be  a  quenching  of  the  fire  by  oil :  a  dreadful  plan  !  In 
fact,  this  is  what  you  may  see  everywhere  going  on  just  now ; 
this  is  what  has  reduced  us  to  the  pass  we  are  at ! — To 
recognise  merit,  you  must  first  yourself  have  it ;  to  recognise 
false  merit,  and  crown  it  as  true,  because  a  long  tail  runs 
after  it,  is  the  saddest  operation  under  the  sun  ;  and  it  is  one 
you  have  only  to  open  your  eyes  and  see  every  day.  Alas, 
no  :  Ideals  won't  carry  many  people  far.  To  have  an  Ideal 
generally  done,  it  must  be  compelled  by  the  vulgar  appetite 
there  is  to  do  it,  by  indisputable  advantage  seen  in  doing  it. 

And  yet,  in  such  an  independent  position  ;  acknowledged 
king  of  one's  own  territories,  well  withdrawn  from  the  raging 
inanities  of  "  politics,"  leaving  the  loud  rabble  and  their 
spokesmen  to  consummate  all  that  in  their  own  sweet  way, 
and  make  Anarchy  again  horrible,  and  Government  or  real 
Kingship  the  thing  desirable, — one   fancies  there  might  be 

^  Lord  Palmerston,  in  debate  on  Civil-Service  Examination  Proposal. 


SHOOTING   NIAGARA:    AND  AFTER?      39 

actual  scope  for  a  kingly  soul  to  aim  at  unfolding  itself,  at 
imprinting  itself  in  all  manner  of  beneficent  arrangements 
and  improvements  of  things  around  it. 

Schools,  for  example,  schooling  and  training  of  its  young 
subjects  in  the  way  that  they  should  go,  and  in  the  things 
that  they  should  do:  what  a  boundless  outlook  that  of  schools, 
and  of  improvement  in  school  methods  and  school  purposes, 
which  in  these  ages  lie  hitherto  all  superannuated  and  to  a 
frightful  degree  inapplicable  !  Our  schools  go  all  upon  the 
vocal  hitherto  ;  no  clear  aim  in  them  but  to  teach  the  young 
creature  how  he  is  to  speak,  to  utter  himself  by  tongue  and 
pen  ; — which,  supposing  him  even  to  have  something  to  utter, 
as  he  so  very  rarely  has,  is  by  no  means  the  thing  he  specially 
wants  in  our  times.  How  he  is  to  work,  to  behave  and  do ; 
that  is  the  question  for  him,  which  he  seeks  the  answer  of  in 
schools ; — in  schools,  having  now  so  little  chance  of  it  else- 
where. In  other  times,  many  or  most  of  his  neighbours  round 
him,  his  superiors  over  him,  if  he  looked  well  and  could  take 
example,  and  learn  by  what  he  saw,  were  in  use  to  yield  him 
very  much  of  answer  to  this  vitalest  of  questions  :  but  now 
they  do  not,  or  do  it  fatally  the  reverse  way  !  Talent  of 
speaking  grows  daily  commoner  among  one's  neighbours ; 
amounts  already  to  a  weariness  and  a  nuisance,  so  barren  is 
it  of  great  benefit,  and  liable  to  be  of  great  hurt :  but  the 
talent  of  right  conduct,  of  wise  and  useful  behaviour  seems  to 
grow  rarer  every  day,  and  is  nowhere  taught  in  the  streets 
and  thoroughfares  any  more.  Right  schools  were  never  more 
desirable  than  now.  Nor  ever  more  unattainable,  by  public 
clamoring  and  jargoning,  than  now.  Only  the  wise  Ruler 
(acknowledged  king  in  his  own  territories),  taking  counsel 
with  the  wise,  and  earnestly  pushing  and  endeavouring  all  his 
days,  might  do  something  in  it.  It  is  true,  I  suppose  him  to 
be  capable  of  recognising  and  searching  out  '  the  wise,''  who 
are  apt  not  to  be  found  on  the  high  roads  at  present,  or  only 
to  be  transiently  passing  there,  with  closed  lips,  swift  step, 
and  possibly  a  grimmish  aspect  of  countenance,  among  the 


40  MISCELLANIES 

crowd  of  loquacious  sham-v^xse.  To  be  capable  of  actually 
recognising  and  discerning  these ;  and  that  is  no  small  postu- 
late (how  great  a  one  I  know  well)  : — in  fact,  unless  our 
Noble  by  rank  be  a  Noble  by  nature,  little  or  no  success  is 
possible  to  us  by  him. 

But  granting  this  great  postulate,  what  a  field  in  the  No7i- 
vocal  School  department,  such  as  was  not  dreamt  of  before  ! 
Non-vocal ;  presided  over  by  whatever  of  Pious  Wisdom  this 
King  could  eliminate  from  all  corners  of  the  impious  world  ; 
and  could  consecrate  with  means  and  appliances  for  making 
the  new  generation,  by  degrees,  less  impious.  Tragical  to 
think  of:  Every  new  generation  is  born  to  us  direct  out  of 
Heaven  ;  white  as  purest  writing-paper,  white  as  snow ; — 
everything  we  please  can  be  written  on  it ; — and  our  pleasure 
and  our  negligence  is.  To  begin  blotching  it,  scrawling, 
smutching  and  smearing  it,  from  the  first  day  it  sees  the 
sun ;  towards  such  a  consummation  of  ugliness,  dirt  and 
blackness  of  darkness,  as  is  too  often  visible.  Woe  on  us ; 
there  is  no  woe  like  this, — if  we  were  not  sunk  in  stupefac- 
tion, and  had  still  eyes  to  discern  or  souls  to  feel  it ! — Goethe 
has  shadowed  out  a  glorious  far-glancing  specimen  of  that 
Non- vocal,  or  very  partially  vocal  kind  of  School..  I  myself 
remember  to  have  seen  an  extremely  small  but  highly  useful 
and  practicable  little  corner  of  one,  actually  on  work  at 
Glasnevin  in  Ireland  about  fifteen  years  ago ;  and  have  often 
thought  of  it  since. 

IX 

I  always  fancy  there  might  much  be  done  in  the  way  of 
military  Drill  withal.  Beyond  all  other  schooling,  and  as 
supplement  or  even  as  succedaneum  for  all  other,  one  often 
wishes  the  entire  Population  could  be  thoroughly  drilled  ; 
into  cooperative  movement,  into  individual  behaviour,  correct, 
precise,  and  at  once  habitual  and  orderly  as  mathematics,  in 
all  or  in  very  many  points, — and  ultimately  in  the  point  of 
actual  Military  Service,  should  such  be  required  of  it ! 


SHOOTING   NIAGARA  :    AND   AFTER  ?      41 

That  of  commanding  and  obeying,  were  there  nothing  more, 
is  it  not  the  basis  of  all  human  culture  ;  ought  not  all  to  have 
it ;  and  how  many  ever  do  ?  I  often  say,  The  one  Official 
Person,  royal,  sacerdotal,  scholastic,  governmental,  of  our  times, 
who  is  still  thoroughly  a  truth  and  a  reality,  and  not  in  great 
part  a  hypothesis  and  worn-out  humbug,  proposing  and  at- 
tempting a  duty  which  he  fails  to  do, — is  the  Drill -Sergeant 
who  is  master  of  his  work,  and  who  will  perform  it.  By 
Drill-Sergeant  understand,  not  the  man  in  three  stripes  alone; 
understand  him  as  meaning  all  such  men,  up  to  the  Turenne, 
to  the  Friedrich  of  Prussia ; — he  does  his  function,  he  is 
genuine ;  and  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest  no  one  else 
does.  Ask  your  poor  King's  Majesty,  Captain -General  of 
England,  Defender  of  the  Faith,  and  so  much  else  ;  ask  your 
poor  Bishop,  sacred  Overseer  of  souls  ;  your  poor  Lawyer, 
sacred  Dispenser  of  justice;  your  poor  Doctor,  ditto  of 
health  :  they  will  all  answer,  "  Alas,  no,  worthy  sir,  we  are 
all  of  us  unfortunately  fallen  not  a  little,  some  of  us  alto- 
gether, into  the  imaginary  or  quasi-humbug  condition,  and 
cannot  help  ourselves ;  he  alone  of  the  three  stripes,  or  of 
the  gorget  and  baton,  does  what  he  pretends  to  ! "  That  is 
the  melancholy  fact ;  well  worth  considering  at  present. — 
Nay,  I  often  consider  farther,  If,  in  any  Country,  the  Drill- 
Sergeant  himself  fall  into  the  partly  imaginary  or  humbug 
condition  (as  is  my  frightful  apprehension  of  him  here  in 
England,  on  survey  of  him  in  his  marvellous  Crimean  ex- 
peditions, marvellous  Court-martial  revelations.  Newspaper 
controversies,  and  the  like),  what  is  to  become  of  that  Country 
and  its  thrice- miserable  Drill-Sergeant  .^  Reformed  Parlia- 
ment, I  hear,  has  decided  on  a  "  thorough  Army  reform," 
as  one  of  the  first  things.  So  that  we  shall  at  length  have 
a  perfect  Army,  field- worthy  and  correct  in  all  points,  thinks 
Reformed  Parliament  ?  Alas,  yes  ; — and  if  the  sky  fall,  we 
shall  catch  larks,  too  ! — 

But  now,  what  is  to  hinder  the  acknowledged  King  in  all 


42  MISCELLANIES 

comers  of  his  territory,  to  introduce  wisely  a  universal  system 
of  Drill,  not  military  only,  but  human  in  all  kinds ;  so  that 
no  child  or  man  born  in  Ms  territory  might  miss  th^  benefit 
of  it, — which  would  be  immense  to  man,  woman  and  child  ? 
I  would  begin  with  it,  in  mild,  soft  forms,  so  soon  almost  as 
my  children  were  able  to  stand  on  their  legs  ;  and  I  would 
never  wholly  remit  it  till  they  had  done  with  the  world  and 
me.  Poor  Wilderspin  knew  something  of  this ;  the  great 
Goethe  evidently  knew  a  great  deal !  This  of  outwardly 
combined  and  plainly  consociated  Discipline,  in  simultaneous 
movement  and  action,  which  may  be  practical,  symbolical, 
artistic,  mechanical  in  all  degrees  and  modes, —  is  one  of  the 
noblest  capabilities  of  man  (most  sadly  undervalued  hitherto); 
and  one  he  takes  the  greatest  pleasure  in  exercising  and  unfold- 
ing, not  to  mention  at  all  the  invaluable  benefit  it  would 
affbrd  him  if  unfolded.  From  correct  marching  in  line,  to 
rhythmic  dancing  in  cotillon  or  minuet, — and  to  infinitely 
higher  degrees  (that  of  symboling  in  concert  your  "  first 
reverence,"  for  instance,  supposing  reverence  and  symbol  of  it 
to  be  both  sincere  !) — there  is  a  natural  charm  in  it ;  the 
fulfilment  of  a  deep-seated,  universal  desire,  to  all  rhythmic 
social  creatures  !  In  man's  heaven-born  Docility,  or  power  of 
being  Educated,  it  is  estimable  as  perhaps  the  deepest  and 
richest  element ;  or  the  next  to  that  of  music,  of  Sensibility 
to  Song,  to  Harmony  and  Number,  which  some  have  reckoned 
the  deepest  of  all.  A  richer  mine  than  any  in  California 
for  poor  human  creatures  ;  richer  by  what  a  multiple ;  and 
hitherto  as  good  as  never  opened, — worked  only  for  the 
Fighting  purpose.  Assuredly  I  would  not  neglect  the  Fight- 
ing purpose ;  no,  from  sixteen  to  sixty,  not  a  son  of  mine  but 
should  know  the  Soldiers  function  too,  and  be  able  to  defend 
his  native  soil  and  self,  in  best  perfection,  when  need  came. 
But  I  should  not  begin  with  this ;  I  should  carefully  end  with 
this,  after  careful  travel  in  innumerable  fruitful  fields  by  the 
way  leading  to  this. 

It  is   strange  to   me,  stupid  creatures   of  routine  as   we 


SHOOTING   NIAGARA:    AND   AFTER?      43 

mostly  are,  how  in  all  education  of  mankind,  this  of  simul- 
taneous Drilling  into  combined  rhythmic  action,  for  almost 
all  good  purposes,  has  been  overlooked  and  left  neglected  by 
the  elaborate  and  many-sounding  Pedagogues  and  Professorial 
Persons  we  have  had,  for  the  long  centuries  past !  It  really 
should  be  set  on  foot  a  little ;  and  developed  gradually  into 
the  multiform  opulent  results  it  holds  for  us.  As  might  well 
be  done,  by  an  acknowledged  king  in  his  own  territory,  if  he 
were  wise.  To  all  children  of  men  it  is  such  an  entertain- 
ment, when  you  set  them  to  it.  I  believe  the  vulgarest 
Cockney  crowd,  flung  out  millionfold  on  a  Whit -Monday, 
with  nothing  but  beer  and  dull  folly  to  depend  on  for  amuse- 
ment, would  at  once  kindle  into  something  human,  if  you  set 
them  to  do  almost  any  regulated  act  in  common.  And  would 
dismiss  their  beer  and  dull  foolery,  in  the  silent  charm  of 
rhythmic  human  companionship,  in  the  practical  feeling, 
probably  new,  that  all  of  us  are  made  on  one  pattern,  and 
are,  in  an  unfathomable  way,  brothers  to  one  another. 

Soldier-Drill,  for  fighting  purposes,  as  I  have  said,  would 
be  the  last  or  finishing  touch  of  all  these  sorts  of  Drilling ; 
and  certainly  the  acknowledged  king  would  reckon  it  not 
the  least  important  to  him,  but  even  perhaps  the  most  so,  in 
these  peculiar  times.  Anarchic  Parliaments  and  Penny  News- 
papers might  perhaps  grow  jealous  of  him  ;  in  any  case,  he 
would  have  to  be  cautious,  punctilious,  severely  correct,  and 
obey  to  the  letter  whatever  laws  and  regulations  they  emitted 
on  the  subject.  But  that  done,  how  could  the  most  anarchic 
Parliament,  or  Penny  Editor,  think  of  forbidding  any  fellow- 
citizen  such  a  manifest  improvement  on  all  the  human  crea- 
tures round  him  ?  Our  wise  hero  Aristocrat,  or  acknowledged 
king  in  his  own  territory,  would  by  no  means  think  of  employ- 
ing his  superlative  private  Field -regiment  in  levy  of  war 
against  the  most  anarchic  Parliament ;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
might  and  would  loyally  help  said  Parliament  in  warring- 
down  much  anarchy  Avorse  than  its  own,  and  so  gain  steadily 


44  MISCELLANIES 

new  favour  from  it.  From  it,  and  from  all  men  and  gods  ! 
And  would  have  silently  the  consciousness,  too,  that  with 
every  new  Disciplined  Man  he  was  widening  the  arena  of 
^w^i- Anarchy,  of  God -appointed  Order  in  this  world  and 
Nation, — and  was  looking  forward  to  a  day,  very  distant 
probably,  but  certain  as  Fate. 

For  I  suppose  it  would  in  no  moment  be  doubtful  to  him 
that,  between  Anarchy  and  Anti-ditto,  it  would  have  to  come 
to  sheer  fight  at  last ;  and  that  nothing  short  of  duel  to  the 
death  could  ever  void  that  great  quarrel.  And  he  would 
have  his  hopes,  his  assurances,  as  to  how  the  victory  would 
lie.  For  everywhere  in  this  Universe,  and  in  every  Nation 
that  is  not  divorced  from  it  and  in  the  act  of  perishing 
forever,  Anti- Anarchy  is  silently  on  the  increase,  at  all 
moments  :  Anarchy  not,  but  contrariwise ;  having  the  whole 
Universe  forever  set  against  it ;  pushing  it  slowly,  at  all 
moments,  towards  suicide  and  annihilation.  To  Anarchy, 
however  million-headed,  there  is  no  victory  possible.  Patience, 
silence,  diligence,  ye  chosen  of  the  world  !  Slowly  or  fast,  in 
the  course  of  time,  you  will  grow  to  a  minority  that  can 
actually  step  forth  (sword  not  yet  drawn,  but  sword  ready  to 
be  drawn),  and  say  :  "  Here  are  we,  Sirs  ;  we  also  are  now 
minded  to  vote, — to  all  lengths,  as  you  may  perceive.  A 
company  of  poor  men  (as  friend  Oliver  termed  us)  who  will 
spend  all  our  blood,  if  needful ! "  What  are  Beales  and  his 
50,000  roughs  against  such;  what  are  the  noisiest  anarchic 
Parliaments,  in  majority  of  a  million  to  one,  against  such .? 
Stubble  against  fire.  Fear  not,  my  friend ;  the  issue  is  very 
certain  when  it  comes  so  far  as  this  ! 


X 

These  are  a  kind  of  enterprises,  hypothetical  as  yet,  but 
possible  evidently  more  or  less,  and,  in  all  degrees  of  them, 
tending  towards  noble  benefit  to  oneself  and  to  all  one's 
fellow-creatures ;    which  a  man  born  noble  by  title  and   by 


SHOOTING   NIAGARA:    AND   AFTER?      45 

nature,  with  ample  territories  and  revenues,  and  a  life  to 
dispose  of  as  he  pleased,  might  go  into,  and  win  honour  by, 
even  in  the  England  that  now  is.  To  my  fancy,  they  are 
bright  little  potential  breaks,  and  z/^turnings,  of  that 
disastrous  cloud  which  now  overshadows  his  best  capabilities 
and  him  ; — as  every  blackest  cloud  in  this  world  has  withal  a 
'  silver  lining ' ;  and  is,  full  surely,  beshone  by  the  Heavenly 
lights,  if  we  can  get  to  that  other  side  of  it !  More  of  such 
fine  possibilities  I  might  add  :  that  of  "  Sanitary  regulation," 
for  example ;  To  see  the  divinely-appointed  laws  and  con- 
ditions of  Health,  at  last,  humanly  appointed  as  well ;  year 
after  year,  more  exactly  ascertained,  rendered  valid,  habitually 
practised,  in  one's  own  Dominion ;  and  the  old  adjective 
'  Healthy '  once  more  becoming  synonymous  with  'Holy,** — 
what  a  conquest  there  !  But  I  forbear ;  feeling  well  enough 
hoAv  visionary  these  things  look  ;  and  how  aerial,  high  and 
spiritual  they  are ;  little  capable  of  seriously  tempting,  even 
for  moments,  any  but  the  highest  kinds  of  men.  Few  Noble 
Lords,  I  may  believe,  will  think  of  taking  this  course ;  indeed 
not  many,  as  Noble  Lords  now  are,  could  do  much  good  in  it. 
Dilettantism  will  avail  nothing  in  any  of  these  enterprises ;  the 
law  of  them  is,  grim  labour,  earnest  and  continual ;  certainty 
of  many  contradictions,  disappointments  ;  a  life,  not  of  ease 
and  pleasure,  but  of  noble  and  sorrowful  toil ;  the  reward  of 
it  far  oif — fit  only  for  heroes  ! 

Much  the  readiest  likelihood  for  our  Aristocrat  by  title 
would  be  that  of  coalescing  iiobly  with  his  two  Brothers,  the 
Aristocrats  by  nature,  spoken  of  above.  Both  greatly  need 
him  ;  especially  the  Vocal  or  Teaching  one,  wandering  now 
desolate  enough,  heard  only  as  a  Vox  Clamantis  e  Deserto ; — 
though  I  suppose,  it  will  be  with  the  Silent  or  Industrial  one, 
as  with  the  easier  of  the  two,  that  our  Titular  first  comes 
into  clear  cooperation.  This  Practical  hero,  Aristocrat  by 
nature,  and  standing  face  to  face  and  hand  to  hand,  all  his 
days,  in  life-battle  with  Practical  Chaos  (with  dirt,  disorder. 


46  MISCELLANIES 

nomadism,  disobedience,  folly  and  confusion),  slowly  coercing 
it  into  Cosmos,  will  surely  be  the  natural  ally  for  any  titular 
Aristocrat  who  is  bent  on  being  a  real  one  as  the  business  of 
his  life.  No  other  field  of  activity  is  half  so  promising  as 
the  united  field  which  those  two  might  occupy.  By  nature 
and  position  they  are  visibly  a  kind  of  Kings,  actual  British 
'  Peers '  (or  Vice-Kings,  in  absence  and  abeyance  of  any  visible 
King) ;  and  might  take  manifold  counsel  together,  hold 
manifold  '  Parliament '  together  ( Voa:  e  Deserto  sitting  there 
as  '  Bench  of  Bishops,"  possibly  !) — and  might  mature  and 
adjust  innumerable  things.  Were  there  but  Three  Aristocrats 
of  each  sort  in  the  whole  of  Britain,  what  beneficent  unre- 
ported '  Parliamenta^ — actual  human  consultations  and  earnest 
deliberations,  responsible  to  no  Buncombe^  disturbed  by  no 
Penny  Editor, — on  what  the  whole  Nine  were  earnest  to  see 
done  !  By  degrees,  there  would  some  beginnings  of  success 
and  Cosmos  be  achieved  upon  this  our  unspeakable  Chaos  ; 
by  degrees  something  of  light,  of  prophetic  twilight,  would 
be  shot  across  its  unfathomable  dark  of  horrors, — prophetic 
of  victory,  sure  though  far  away. 

Penny- Newspaper  Parliaments  cannot  legislate  on  anything; 
they  know  the  real  properties  and  qualities  of  no  thing,  and 
don't  even  try  or  want  to  know  them, — know  only  what 
'■Buncombe''  in  its  darkness  thinks  of  them.  No  law  upon 
a  thing  can  be  made,  on  such  terms ;  nothing  but  a  mock- 
law,  which  Nature  silently  abrogates,  the  instant  your  third 
reading  is  done.  But  men  in  contact  with  the  fact,  and 
earnestly  questioning  it,  can  at  length  ascertain  what  is  the 
law  of  it, — what  it  will  behove  any  Parliament  (of  the 
Penny-Newspaper  sort  or  other)  to  enact  upon  it.  Whole 
crops  and  harvests  of  authentic  "  Laws,"  now  pressingly 
needed  and  not  obtainable,  upon  our  new  British  Industries, 
Interests  and  Social  Relations,  I  could  fancy  to  be  got  into  a 
state  of  forwardness  by  small  virtual  '  Parliaments '  of  this 
unreported  kind, — into  a  real  state  of  preparation  for  enact- 
ment by  what  actual  Parliament  there  was,  itself  so  incompetent 


SHOOTING   NIAGARA:    AND   AFTER?      47 

for  "  legislating  "  otherwise.  These  are  fond  dreams  ?  Well, 
let  us  hope  not  altogether.  Most  certain  it  is,  an  immense 
Body  of  Laws  upon  these  new  Industrial,  Commercial,  Rail- 
way etc.  Phenomena  of  ours  are  pressingly  wanted  ;  and  none 
of  mortals  knows  where  to  get  them.  For  example,  the  Rivers 
and  running  Streams  of  England  ;  primordial  elements  of  this 
our  poor  Birthland,  face-features  of  it,  created  by  Heaven 
itself:  Is  Industry  free  to  tumble  out  whatever  horror  of 
refuse  it  may  have  arrived  at  into  the  nearest  crystal  brook  ? 
Regardless  of  gods  and  men  and  little  fishes.  Is  Free 
Industry  free  to  convert  all  our  rivers  into  Acherontic  sewers; 
England  generally  into  a  roaring  sooty  smith's  forge  ?  Are 
we  all  doomed  to  eat  dust,  as  the  Old  Serpent  was,  and  to 
breathe  solutions  of  soot  ?  Can  a  Railway  Company  with 
"Promoters"  manage,  by j'^^i?;^'  certain  men  in  bombazeen, 
to  burst  through  your  bedroom  in  the  night-watches,  and 
miraculously  set  all  your  crockery  jingling .''  Is  an  English- 
man's house  still  his  castle ;  and  in  what  sense  ? — Examples 
plenty  ! 

The  Aristocracy,  as  a  class,  has  as  yet  no  thought  of 
giving-up  the  game,  or  ceasing  to  be  what  in  the  language 
of  flattery  is  called  "  Governing  Class " ;  nor  should,  till  it 
have  seen  farther.  In  the  better  heads  among  them  are 
doubtless  grave  misgivings  ;  serious  enough  reflections  rising, 
— perhaps  not  sorrowful  altogether ;  for  there  must  be 
questions  withal,  "  Was  it  so  very  blessed  a  function,  then, 
that  of  '  Governing '  on  the  terms  given  ? "  But  beyond 
doubt  the  vulgar  Noble  Lord  intends  fully  to  continue  the 
game, — with  doubly  severe  study  of  the  new  rules  issued  on 
it ; — and  will  still,  for  a  good  while  yet,  go  as  heretofore 
into  Electioneering,  Parliamentary  Engineering ;  and  hope 
against  hope  to  keep  weltering  atop  by  some  method  or 
other,  and  to  make  a  fit  existence  for  himself  in  that 
miserable  old  way.  An  existence  filled  with  labour  and 
anxiety,  with  disappointments  and  disgraces  and  futilities  I 


48  MISCELLANIES 

can  promise  him,  but  with  little  or  nothing  else.  Let  us 
hope  he  will  be  wise  to  discern,  and  not  continue  the  experi- 
ment too  long  ! 

He  has  lost  his  place  in  that  element ;  nothing  but  services 
of  a  sordid  and  dishonourable  nature,  betrayal  of  his  own 
Order,  and  of  the  noble  interests  of  England,  can  gain  him 
even  momentary  favour  there.  He  cannot  bridle  the  wild 
horse  of  a  Plebs  any  longer : — for  a  generation  past,  he  has 
not  even  tried  to  bridle  it ;  but  has  run  panting  and  trotting 
meanly  by  the  side  of  it,  patting  its  stupid  neck ;  slavishly 
plunging  with  it  into  any  "  Crimean "  or  other  slough  of 
black  platitudes  it  might  reel  towards, — anxious  he,  only  not 
to  be  kicked  away,  not  just  yet ;  oh,  not  yet  for  a  little  while  ! 
Is  this  an  existence  for  a  man  of  any  honour;  for  a  man 
ambitious  of  more  honour  ?  I  should  say,  not.  And  he 
still  thinks  to  hang  by  the  bridle,  now  when  his  Plebs  is 
getting  into  the  gallop  ?  Hanging  by  its  bridle,  through 
what  steep  brambly  places  (scratching  out  the  very  eyes  of  him, 
as  is  often  enough  observable),  through  what  malodorous  quag- 
mires and  ignominious  pools  will  the  wild  horse  drag  him, — 
till  he  quit  hold  !  Let  him  quit,  in  Heaven's  name.  Better 
he  should  go  yachting  to  Algeria,  and  shoot  lions  for  an 
occupied  existence  : — or  stay  at  home  and  hunt  rats .?  Why 
not  "^  Is  not,  in  strict  truth,  the  Ratcatcher  our  one  real 
British  Nimrod  now  !  —  Game-preserving,  Highland  deer- 
stalking, and  the  like,  will  soon  all  have  ceased  in  this  over- 
crowded Country ;  and  I  can  see  no  other  business  for  the 
vulgar  Noble  Lord,  if  he  will  continue  vulgar ! — 


LATTER   STAGE   OF   THE 
FRENCH-GERMAN  WAR,  1870-71 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Times 

Chelsea^  11  Nov.  1870. 

Sir, — It  is  probably  an  amiable  trait  of  human  nature,  this 
cheap  pity  and  newspaper  lamentation  over  fallen  and  afflicted 
France  ;  but  it  seems  to  me  a  very  idle,  dangerous,  and  mis- 
guided feeling,  as  applied  to  the  cession  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine 
by  France  to  her  German  conquerors  ;  and  argues,  on  the 
part  of  England,  a  most  profound  ignorance  as  to  the  mutual 
history  of  France  and  Germany,  and  the  conduct  of  France 
towards  that  Country,  for  long  centuries  back.  The  question 
for  the  Gerraajis,  in  this  crisis,  is  not  one  of  '  magnanimity,' 
of  '  heroic  pity  and  forgiveness  to  a  fallen  foe,'  but  of  solid 
prudence,  and  practical  consideration  what  the  fallen  foe  will, 
in  all  likelihood,  do  when  once  on  his  feet  again.  Written 
on  her  memory,  in  a  dismally  instructive  manner,  Germany 
has  an  experience  of  400  years  on  this  point ;  of  which  on 
the  English  memory,  if  it  ever  Avas  recorded  there,  there  is 
now  little  or  no  trace  visible. 

Does  any  of  us  know,  for  instance,  with  the  least  precision, 
or  in  fact  know  at  all,  the  reciprocal  procedures,  the  mutual 
history  as  we  call  it,  of  Louis  xi.  and  Kaiser  Max  ?  Max,  in 
his  old  age,  put  down,  in  chivalrous  allegorical  or  emblematic 
style,  a  wonderful  record  of  these  things.  The  We'isse  Konig 
("White  King,"  as  he  called  himself;  "  Red  King,"  or  perhaps 
"  Black,"  being  Louis's  adumbrative  title) ;    adding  many  fine 

VOL.  V.  D 


50  MISCELLANIES 

engravings  by  the  best  artist  of  his  time:  for  the  sake  of 
these  prints,  here  and  there  an  English  collector  may  possess 
a  copy  of  the  book ;  but  I  doubt  if  any  Englishman  has  ever 
read  it,  or  could,  for  want  of  other  reading  on  the  subject, 
understand  any  part  of  it.  Old  Louis's  quarrel  with  the 
Chief  of  Germany,  at  that  time,  was  not  unlike  this  last  one 
of  a  younger  Louis  :  "  You  accursed  Head  of  Germany,  you 
have  been  prospering  in  the  world  lately,  and  I  not ;  have  at 
you,  then,  with  fire  and  sword  ! "  But  it  ended  more  success- 
fully for  old  Louis  and  his  French  than  I  hope  the  present 
quarrel  will.  The  end,  at  that  time,  was.  That  opulent,  noble 
Burgundy  did  not  get  re-united  to  her  old  Teutonic  mother, 
but  to  France,  her  grasping  step-mother,  and  remains  French 
to  this  day. 

Max's  grandson  and  successor,  Charles  v.,  was  hardly  luckier 
than  Max  in  his  road-companion  and  contemporary  French 
King.  Francis  i.,  not  content  with  France  for  a  kingdom, 
began  by  trying  to  be  elected  German  Kaiser  as  well ;  and 
never  could  completely  digest  his  disappointment  in  that  fine 
enterprise.  He  smoothed  his  young  face,  however  ;  swore 
eternal  friendship  with  the  young  Charles  who  had  beaten 
him  ;  and,  a  few  months  after,  had  egged-on  the  poor  little 
Duke  of  Bouillon,  the  Reich's  and  Charles's  vassal,  to  refuse 
homage  in  that  quarter,  and  was  in  hot  war  with  Charles. 
The  rest  of  his  earthly  existence  was  a  perpetual  haggle 
of  broken  treaties,  and  ever-recurring  war  and  injury  with 
Charles  v. ; — a  series,  withal,  of  intrusive  interferences  with 
Germany,  and  every  German  trouble  that  arose,  to  the  worsen- 
ing and  widening  of  them  all,  not  to  the  closing  or  healing 
of  any  one  of  them.  A  terrible  journey  these  Two  had 
together,  and  a  terrible  time  they  made  out  for  Germany 
between  them,  and  for  France  too,  though  not  by  any  means 
in  a  like  degree.  The  exact  deserts  of  his  Most  Christian 
Majesty  Francis  i.  in  covenanting  with  Sultan  Soliman, — that 
is  to  say,  in  letting  loose  the  then  quasi-infernal  roaring-lion 
of  a  Turk  {then  in  the   height  of  his  sanguinary  fury  and 


I 


FRENCH-GERMAN    WAR,    1870-71       61 

fanaticism,  not  sunk  to  caput  mortuum  and  a  torpid  nuisance 
as  now)  upon  Christendom  and  the  German  Empire,  I  do  not 
pretend  to  estimate.  It  seems  to  me,  no  modern  imagination 
can  conceive  this  atrocity  of  the  Most  Christian  King  ;  or  how 
it  harassed,  and  haunted  with  incessant  terror,  the  Christian 
nations  for  the  two  centuries  ensuing. 

Richelieu's  trade,  again,  was  twofold  :  first,  what  everybody 
must  acknowledge  was  a  great  and  legitimate  one,  that  of 
coercing  and  drilling  into  obedience  to  their  own  Sovereign 
the  vassals  of  the  Crown  of  France ;  and  secondly,  that  of 
plundering,  weakening,  thwarting,  and  in  all  ways  tormenting 
the  German  Empire.  "  He  protected  Protestantism  there  ? "" 
Yes,  and  steadily  persecuted  his  own  Huguenots,  bombarded 
his  own  Rochelle ;  and  in  Germany  kept  up  a  Thirty- Years 
War,  cherishing  diligently  the  last  embers  of  it  till  Germany 
were  burnt  to  utter  ruin ;  no  nation  ever  nearer  absolute  ruin 
than  unhappy  Germany  then  was.  An  unblessed  Richelieu 
for  Germany ;  nor  a  blessed  for  France  either,  if  we  look  to 
the  ulterior  issues,  and  distinguish  the  solid  from  the  specious 
in  the  fortune  of  Nations.  No  French  ruler,  not  even 
Napoleon  i.,  was  a  feller  or  cruder  enemy  to  Germany,  nor 
half  so  pernicious  to  it  (to  its  very  soul  as  well  as  to  its 
body)  :  and  Germany  had  done  him  no  injury  that  I  know 
of,  except  that  of  existing  beside  him. 

Of  Louis  xiv.'s  four  grand  plunderings  and  incendiarisms  of 
Europe, — for  no  real  reason  but  his  own  ambition,  and  desire 
to  snatch  his  neighbour's  goods, — of  all  this  we  of  this  age 
have  now,  if  any,  an  altogether  faint  and  placid  remembrance, 
and  our  feelings  on  it  differ  greatly  from  those  that  animated 
our  poor  forefathers  in  the  time  of  William  iii.  and  Queen 
Anne.  Of  Belleisle  and  Louis  xv.'s  fine  scheme  to  cut  Germany 
into  four  little  kingdoms,  and  have  them  dance  and  fence  to 
the  piping  of  Versailles,  I  do  not  speak  ;  for  to  France  her- 
self this  latter  fine  scheme  brought  its  own  reward  :  loss  of 
America,  loss  of  India,  disgrace  and  discomfiture  in  all  quarters 
of  the  world, — advent,  in  fine,  of  The  French  Revolution  ; 


52  MISCELLANIES 

embarkation  on  the  shoreless  chaos  on  which  ill-fated  France 
still  drifts  and  tumbles. 

The  Revolution  and  Napoleon  i.,  and  their  treatment  of 
Germany,  are  still  in  the  memory  of  men  and  newspapers  ; 
but  that  was  not  by  any  means,  as  idle  men  and  newspapers 
seem  to  think,  the  first  of  Germany's  sufferings  from  France  ; 
it  was  the  last  of  a  very  long  series  of  such, — the  last  hut 
one,  let  us  rather  say ;  and  hope  that  this  now  going  on  as 
"  Siege  of  Paris,"  as  wide-spread  empire  of  bloodshed,  anarchy, 
delirium,  and  mendacity,  the  fruit  of  France's  latest  "  marche 
a  Berlin "  may  be  the  last !  No  nation  ever  had  so  bad  a 
neighbour  as  Germany  has  had  in  France  for  the  last  400 
years ;  bad  in  all  manner  of  ways  ;  insolent,  rapacious, 
insatiable,  unappeasable,  continually  aggressive. 

And  now,  furthermore,  in  all  History  there  is  no  insolent, 
unjust  neighbour  that  ever  got  so  complete,  instantaneous, 
and  ignominious  a  smashing- down  as  France  has  now  got 
from  Germany.  Germany,  after  400  years  of  ill-usage,  and 
generally  of  ill-fortune,  from  that  neighbour,  has  had  at  last 
the  great  happiness  to  see  its  enemy  fairly  down  in  this 
manner : — and  Germany,  I  do  clearly  believe,  would  be  a  foolish 
nation  not  to  think  of  raising  up  some  secure  boundary-fence 
between  herself  and  such  a  neighbour,  now  that  she  has  the 
chance. 

There  is  no  law  of  Nature  that  I  know  of,  no  Heaven's 
Act  of  Parliament,  whereby  France,  alone  of  terrestrial  beings, 
shall  not  restore  any  portion  of  her  plundered  goods  when 
the  owners  they  were  wrenched  from  have  an  opportunity 
upon  them.  To  nobody,  except  to  France  herself  for  the 
moment,  can  it  be  credible  that  there  is  such  a  law  of  Nature. 
Alsace  and  Lorraine  were  not  got,  either  of  them,  in  so  divine 
a  manner  as  to  render  that  a  probability.  The  cunning  of 
Richelieu,  the  grandiose  long-sword  of  Louis  xiv.,  these  are 
the  only  titles  of  France  to  those  German  countries.  Richelieu 
screwed    them    loose    (and,   by  happy  accident,  there    was   a 


FRENCH-GERMAN    WAR,  1870-71       53 

Turenne,  as  General,  got  screwed  along  with  them ; — Turenne, 
I  think,  was  mainly  German  by  blood  and  temper,  had  not 
Francis  i.  egged-on  his  ancestor,  the  little  Duke  of  Bouillon, 
in  the  way  we  saw,  and  gradually  made  him  French) ;  Louis 
le  Grand,  with  his  Turenne  as  supreme  of  modern  Generals, 
managed  the  rest  of  the  operation, — except  indeed,  I  should 
say,  the  burning  of  the  Palatinate,  from  Heidelberg  Palace 
steadily  downwards,  into  black  ruin  ;  which  Turenne  would 
not  do  sufficiently,  and  which  Louis  had  to  get  done  by 
another.  There  was  also  a  good  deal  of  extortionate  law- 
practice,  what  we  may  fairly  call  violently-sharp  attorneyism, 
put  in  use.  The  great  Louis''s  "  Chambres  de  Reunion,''''  Metz 
Chamber,  Brissac  Chamber,  were  once  of  high  infamy,  and 
much  complained  of  here  in  England,  and  everywhere  else 
beyond  the  Rhine.  The  Grand  Louis,  except  by  sublime 
gesture,  ironically  polite,  made  no  answer.  He  styled  himself, 
on  his  very  coins  (ecu  of  1687,  say  the  Medallists),  Excelsus 
SDPEE  OMNES  GENTES  DoMiNUs  ;  but  it  is  Certain,  attorneyism 
of  the  worst  sort  was  one  of  his  instruments  in  this  conquest 
of  Alsace.  Nay,  as  to  Strasburg,  it  was  not  even  attorneyism, 
much  less  a  long-sword,  that  did  the  feat ;  it  was  a  house- 
breaker's Jm>7??/  on  the  part  of  the  Gi'and  Monarque.  Stras- 
burg was  got  in  time  of  profound  peace  by  bribing  of  the 
magistrates  to  do  treason,  on  his  part,  and  admit  his  garrison 
one  night. 

Nor  as  to  Metz  la  Pucelle,  nor  any  of  these  Three  Bishop- 
rics, was  it  force  of  war  that  brought  them  over  to  France ; 
rather  it  was  force  of  fraudulent  pawnbroking.  King  Henri  ii. 
(year  1552)  got  these  places, — Protestants  applying  to  him 
in  their  extreme  need, — as  we  may  say,  in  the  way  of  pledge. 
Henri  entered  there  with  banners  spread  and  drums  beating, 
"  solely  in  defence  of  German  liberty,  as  God  shall  witness  " ; 
did  nothing  foi;  Protestantism  or  German  liberty  (German 
liberty  managing  rapidly  to  help  itself  in  this  instance) ;  and 
then,  like  a  brazen-faced  unjust  pawnbroker,  refused  to  give 
the  places  back, — "  had  ancient  rights  over  them,''  extremely 


54  MISCELLANIES 

indubitable  to  him,  and  could  not  give  them  back.  And 
never  yet,  by  any  pressure  or  persuasion,  would.  The  great 
Charles  v.,  Protestantism  itself  now  supporting,  endeavoured, 
with  his  utmost  energy  and  to  the  very  cracking  of  his  heart, 
to  compel  him  ;  but  could  not.  The  present  Hohenzollern 
King,  a  modest  and  pacific  man  in  comparison,  could  and 
has.  I  believe  it  to  be  perfectly  just,  rational  and  wise  that 
Germany  should  take  these  countries  home  with  her  from  her 
unexampled  campaign ;  and,  by  well  fortifying  her  own  old 
Wasgau  ("  Vosges  "),  Hundsrlick  {Dog's-hack),  Three  Bishop- 
rics, and  other  military  strengths,  secure  herself  in  time  coming 
against  French  visits. 

The  French  complain  dreadfully  of  threatened  "  loss  of 
honour  " ;  and  lamentable  bystanders  plead  earnestly,  "  Don't 
dishonour  France ;  leave  poor  France's  honour  bright.""  But 
will  it  save  the  honour  of  France  to  refuse  paying  for  the 
glass  she  has  voluntarily  broken  in  her  neighbour's  windows  ? 
The  attack  upon  the  windows  was  her  dishonour.  Signally 
disgraceful  to  any  nation  was  her  late  assault  on  Germany  ; 
equally  signal  has  been  the  ignominy  of  its  execution  on  the 
part  of  France.  The  honour  of  France  can  be  saved  only  by 
the  deep  repentance  of  France  ;  and  by  the  serious  determina- 
tion never  to  do  so  again, — to  do  the  reverse  of  so  forever 
henceforth.  In  that  way  may  the  honour  of  France  again 
gradually  brighten  to  the  height  of  its  old  splendour, — far 
beyond  the  First  Napoleonic,  much  more  the  Third,  or  any 
recent  sort, — and  offer  again  to  our  voluntary  love  and  grate- 
ful estimation  all  the  fine  and  graceful  qualities  Nature  has 
implanted  in  the  French. 

For  the  present,  I  must  say,  France  looks  more  and  more 
delirious,  miserable,  blamable,  pitiable  and  even  contemptible. 
She  refuses  to  see  the  facts  that  are  lying  palpable  before  her 
face,  and  the  penalties  she  has  brought  upon  herself  A  France 
scattered  into  anarchic  ruin,  without  recognisable  head  ;  head, 
or  chief,  indistinguishable  fvom  feet,  or  rabble;  Ministers  flying 


FRENCH-GERMAN   WAR,    1870-71       55 

up  in  balloons  ballasted  with  nothing  but  outrageous  public 
lies,  proclamations  of  victories  that  were  creatures  of  the  fancy; 
a  Government  subsisting  altogether  on  mendacity,  willing  that 
horrid  bloodshed  should  continue  and  increase  rather  than  that 
they^  beautiful  Republican  creatures,  should  cease  to  have  the 
guidance  of  it :  I  know  not  when  or  where  there  was  seen 
a  nation  so  covering  itself  with  Jwhonour.  If,  among  this 
multitude  of  sympathetic  bystanders,  France  have  any  true 
friend,  his  advice  to  France  would  be.  To  abandon  all  that, 
and  never  to  resume  it  moi'e.  France  really  ought  to  know 
that  '  refuges  of  lies '  were  long  ago  discovered  to  lead  down 
only  to  the  Gates  of  Death  Eternal,  and  to  be  forbidden  to 
all  creatures  ! — That  the  one  hope  for  France  is  to  recognise 
the  facts  which  have  come  to  her,  and  that  they  came  withal 
by  invitation  of  her  own :  how  she, — a  mass  of  gilded,  proudly 
varnished  anarchy, — has  wilfully  insulted  and  defied  to  mortal 
duel  a  neighbour  not  anarchic,  but  still  in  a  quietly-human, 
sober  and  governed  state  ;  and  has  prospered  accordingly. 
Prospered  as  an  array  of  sanguinary  mountebanks  versus  a 
Macedonian  phalanx  must  needs  do ; — and  now  lies  smitten 
down  into  hideous  wreck  and  impotence ;  testifying  to  gods 
and  men  what  extent  of  rottenness,  anarchy  and  hidden  vile- 
ness  lay  in  her.  That  the  inexorable  fact  is,  she  has  left 
herself  without  resource  or  power  of  resisting  the  victorious 
Germans  ;  and  that  her  wisdom  will  be  to  take  that  fact  into 
her  astonished  mind  ;  to  know  that,  howsoever  hateful,  said 
fact  is  inexorable,  and  will  have  to  be  complied  with, — the 
sooner  at  the  cheaper  rate.  It  is  a  hard  lesson  to  vainglorious 
France ;  but  France,  we  hope,  has  still  in  it  veracity  and 
probity  enough  to  accept  fact  as  an  evidently -adamantine 
entity,  which  will  not  brook  resistance  without  penalty,  and 
is  unalterable  by  the  very  gods. 

But  indeed  the  quantity  of  conscious  mendacity  that  France, 
official  and  other,  has  perpetrated  latterly,  especially  since  July 
last,  is  something  wonderful  and  fearful.  And,  alas,  perhaps 
even  that  is  small  compared  to  the  self-delusion  and  '  micon- 


56  MISCELLANIES 

scious  mendacity '  long  prevalent  among  the  French ;  which 
is  of  still  feller  and  more  poisonous  quality,  though  unrecog- 
nised for  poison.  To  me,  at  times,  the  mournfulest  symptom 
in  France  is  the  figure  its  "  men  of  genius,"  its  highest  literary 
speakers,  who  should  be  prophets  and  seers  to  it,  make  at 
present,  and  indeed  for  a  generation  back  have  been  making. 
It  is  evidently  their  belief  that  new  celestial  wisdom  is  radiat- 
ing out  of  France  upon  all  the  other  overshadowed  nations  ; 
that  France  is  the  new  Mount  Zion  of  the  Universe ;  and 
that  all  this  sad,  sordid,  semi-delirious  and,  in  good  part, 
hvfernal  stuff  which  French  Literature  has  been  preaching  to 
us  for  the  last  fifty  years,  is  a  veritable  new  Gospel  out  of 
Heaven,  pregnant  with  blessedness  for  all  the  sons  of  men. 
Alas,  one  does  understand  that  France  made  her  Great  Revolu- 
tion ;  uttered  her  tremendous  doom's-voice  against  a  world  of 
human  shams,  proclaiming,  as  with  the  great  Last  Trumpet, 
that  shams  should  be  no  more.  I  often  call  that  a  celestial- 
infernal  phenomenon, — the  most  memorable  in  our  world  for 
a  thousand  years ;  on  the  whole,  a  transcendent  revolt  against 
the  Devil  and  his  works  (since  shams  are  all  and  sundry  of 
the  Devil,  and  poisonous  and  unendurable  to  man).  For  that 
we  all  infinitely  love  and  honour  France.  And  truly  all  nations 
are  now  busy  enough  copying  France  in  regard  to  that !  From 
side  to  side  of  the  civilised  world  there  is,  in  a  manner,  nothing 
noticeable  but  the  whole  world  in  deep  and  dismally-chaotic 
Insurrection  against  Shams,  determination  to  have  done  with 
shams,  cofde  que  coftte.  Indispensable  that  battle,  however 
ugly.  Well  done,  we  may  say  to  all  that ;  for  it  is  the  pre- 
liminary to  everything  : — but,  alas,  all  that  is  not  yet  victory  ; 
it  is  but  half  the  battle,  and  the  much  easier  half.  The 
infinitely  harder  half,  which  is  the  equally  or  the  still  more 
indispensable,  is  that  of  achieving,  instead  of  the  abolished 
shams  which  were  of  the  Devil,  the  practicable  realities  which 
should  be  veritable  and  of  God.  That  j^r^^  half  of  the  battle, 
I  rejoice  to  see,  is  now  safe,  can  now  never  cease  except  in 
victory ;  but  the  farther  stage  of  it,  I  also  see,  must  be  under 


FRENCH-GERMAN   WAR,    1870-71       57 

better  presidency  than  that  of  France,  or  it  will  forever  prove 
impossible.  The  German  race,  not  the  Gaelic,  are  now  to 
be  protagonist  in  that  immense  world-drama  ;  and  from  them 
I  expect  better  issues.  Worse  we  cannot  well  have.  France 
with  a  dead-lift  effort,  now  of  eighty-one  years,  has  accom- 
plished under  this  head,  for  herself  or  for  the  world,  Nothing, 
or  even  less, — in  strict  arithmetic,  zero  with  minus  quantities. 
Her  prophets  prophesy  a  vain  thing ;  her  people  rove  about 
in  darkness,  and  have  wandered  far  astray. 

Such  prophets  and  such  a  people ; — who,  in  the  way  of 
deception  and  self-deception,  have  carried  it  far  !  '  Given  up 
to  strong  delusion,'  as  the  Scripture  says  ;  till,  at  last,  the  lie 
seems  to  them  the  very  truth.  And  now,  in  their  strangling 
crisis  and  extreme  need,  they  appear  to  have  no  resource  but 
self-deception  still,  and  quasi -heroic  gasconade.  They  do 
believe  it  to  be  heroic.  They  believe  that  they  are  the 
"  Christ  of  nations  ■"  ;  an  innocent  godlike  people,  suffering 
for  the  sins  of  all  nations,  with  an  eye  to  redeem  us  all : — let 
us  hope  that  this  of  the  "  Christ  of  Nations  "  is  the  no7i  plus 
ultra  of  the  thing.  I  wish  they  would  inquire  whether  there 
might  not  be  a  Cartotiche  of  Nations,  fully  as  likely  as  a 
Christ  of  Nations  in  our  time  !  Cartouche  had  many  gallant 
qualities  ;  was  much  admired,  and  much  pitied  in  his  suffer- 
ings ;  and  had  many  fine  ladies  begging  locks  of  his  hair, 
while  the  inexorable,  indispensable  gibbet  was  preparing.  But 
in  the  end  there  was  no  salvation  for  Cartouche.  Better  he 
should  obey  the  heavy-handed  Teutsch  police-officer,  who  has 
him  by  the  windpipe  in  such  frightful  manner ;  give  up  part 
of  his  stolen  goods ;  altogether  cease  to  be  a  Cartouche,  and 
try  to  become  again  a  Chevalier  Bayard  under  improved 
conditions,  and  a  blessing  and  beautiful  benefit  to  all  his 
neighbours, — instead  of  too  much  the  reverse,  as  now  !  Clear 
it  is,  at  any  rate,  singular  as  it  may  seem  to  France,  all 
Europe  does  not  come  to  the  rescue,  in  gratitude  for  the 
heavenly  "  illumination  "  it  is  getting  from  France  :  nor  could 
all   Europe,  if  it  did,  at  this  moment  prevent   that   awful 


58  MISCELLANIES 

Chancellor  from  having  his  own  way.  Metz  and  the  bound- 
ary fence,  I  reckon,  will  be  dreadfully  hard  to  get  out  of  that 
Chancellor's  hands  again, 

A  hundred  years  ago  there  was  in  England  the  liveliest 
desire,  and  at  one  time  an  actual  effort  and  hope,  to  recover 
Alsace  and  Lorraine  from  the  French.  Lord  Carteret,  called 
afterwards  Lord  Granville  (no  ancestor,  in  any  sense,  of  his 
now  Honourable  synonym),  thought  by  some  to  be,  with  the 
one  exception  of  Lord  Chatham,  the  wisest  Foreign  Secretary 
we  ever  had,  and  especially  the  '  one  Secretary  that  ever  spoke 
German  or  understood  German  matters  at  all,'  had  set  his 
heart  on  this  very  object ;  and  had  fair  prospects  of  achieving 
it, — had  not  our  poor  dear  Duke  of  Newcastle  suddenly 
peddled  him  out  of  it ;  and  even  out  of  office  altogether,  into 
sullen  disgust  (and  too  much  of  zaine  withal,  says  Walpole), 
and  into  total  oblivion  by  his  Nation,  which,  except  Chatham, 
has  none  such  to  remember.  That  Bismarck,  and  Germany 
along  with  him,  should  now  at  this  propitious  juncture  make 
a  like  demand,  is  no  surprise  to  me.  After  such  provocation, 
and  after  such  a  victory,  the  resolution  does  seem  rational, 
just  and  even  modest.  And  considering  all  that  has  occurred 
since  that  memorable  cataclysm  at  Sedan,  I  could  reckon  it 
creditable  to  the  sense  and  moderation  of  Count  Bismarck 
that  he  stands  steadily  by  this ;  demanding  nothing  more, 
resolute  to  take  nothing  less,  and  advancing  with  a  slow 
calmness  towards  it  by  the  eligiblest  roads.  The  "  Siege  of 
Paris,""  which  looks  like  the  hugest  and  most  hideous  farce- 
tragedy  ever  played  under  this  sun,  Bismarck  evidently  hopes 
will  never  need  to  come  to  uttermost  bombardment,  to 
million-fold  death  by  hunger,  or  the  kindling  of  Paris  and 
its  carpentries  and  asphalt  streets  by  shells  and  red-hot  balls 
into  a  sea  of  fire.  Diligent,  day  by  day,  seem  those  Prussians, 
never  resting  nor  too  much  hasting;  well  knowing  the  proverb, 
'  Slow  fire  makes  sweet  malt.'  I  believe  Bismarck  will  get  his 
Alsace  and  what  he  wants  of  Lorraine  ;  and  likewise  that  it 


FRENCH-GERMAN    WAR,   1870-71       59 

will  do  him,  and  us,  and  all  the  world,  and  even  France  itself 
by  and  by,  a  great  deal  of  good.  Anarchic  France  gets  her 
first  stern  lesson  there, — a  terribly  drastic  dose  of  physic  to 
sick  France  ! — and  well  will  it  be  for  her  if  she  can  learn  her 
lesson  honestly.  If  she  cannot,  she  will  get  another,  and  ever 
another ;  learnt  the  lesson  must  be. 

Considerable  misconception  as  to  Herr  von  Bismarck  is  still 
prevalent  in  England.  The  English  newspapers,  nearly  all  of 
them,  seem  to  me  to  be  only  getting  towards  a  true  knowledge 
of  Bismarck,  but  not  yet  got  to  it.  The  standing  likeness, 
circulating  everywhere  ten  years  ago,  of  demented  Bismarck 
and  his  ditto  King  to  Strafford  and  Charles  i.  versus  our 
Long  Parliament  {as  like  as  Macedon  to  Monmouth,  and  not 
liker)  has  now  vanished  from  the  earth,  no  whisper  of  it  ever 
to  be  heard  more.  That  pathetic  Niobe  of  Denmark,  reft 
violently  of  her  children  (which  were  stolen  children,  and 
were  dreadfully  ill-nursed  by  Niobe  Denmark),  is  also  nearly 
gone ;  and  will  go  altogether  so  soon  as  knowledge  of  the 
matter  is  had.  Bismarck,  as  I  read  him,  is  not  a  person  of 
"Napoleonic"  ideas,  but  of  ideas  quite  superior  to  Napoleonic; 
show^s  no  invincible  "  lust  of  territory,"  nor  is  tormented  with 
"  vulgar  ambition,"  etc. ;  but  has  aims  very  far  beyond  that 
sphere ;  and  in  fact  seems  to  me  to  be  striving  with  strong 
faculty,  by  patient,  grand  and  successful  steps,  towards  an 
object  beneficial  to  Germans  and  to  all  other  men.  That 
noble,  patient,  deep,  pious  and  solid  Germany  should  be  at 
length  welded  into  a  Nation,  and  become  Queen  of  the  Con- 
tinent, instead  of  vapouring,  vainglorious,  gesticulating,  quar- 
relsome, restless  and  over-sensitive  France,  seems  to  me  the 
hopefulest  public  fact  that  has  occurred  in  my  time. — I 
remain,  Sir,  yours  truly,  T.  Carlyle. 


SUMMARY 

SHOOTING  NIAGARA:    AND  AFTER? 

Present  critical  epoch  of  England's  history.  Democracy  to  complete 
itself, — in  a  Parliament  zealously  watched  by  Penny  Newspapers.  All 
Churches  and  so-called  Religions  to  deliquesce  into  Liberty,  Progress 
and  philanthropic  slush.  Free  Trade  for  everybody,  in  all  senses  and  to 
all  lengths.  Manifold  reflections  and  dubitations.  Unexpected  velocity 
of  events.  Germany  become  honourably  Prussian.  England's  Niagara 
leap  (p.  1). — Strange  how  prepossessions  and  delusions  seize  on  whole 
communities  of  men.  The  singular  phenomenon  the  Germans  call 
Schwarmerei.  No  difficulty  about  your  Queen  Bee.  Axioms  of  folly 
for  articles  of  faith.  Any  man  equal  to  any  other,  and  Bedlam  and 
Gehenna  to  the  New  Jerusalem.  The  one  refutation  (3).  — The  late 
American  War  a  notable  case  of  Swarmery.  The  Nigger  Question  essen- 
tially one  of  the  smallest ;  poor  Nigger.  Servantship  on  the  nomadic 
principle  cannot  but  be  misdone  and  disastrous.  Sheffield  Assassination 
Company,  Limited.  Thirty-thousand  'distressed  needlewomen'  on  the 
pavements  of  Loudon.  A  '  contract  for  life '  the  Niggei-'s  essential 
position.  Injustices  between  Nigger  and  Buckra.  American  Swarmery 
and  a  continent  of  the  earth  submerged  by  deluges  from  the  Pit  of  Hell 
(5). — Swarmery  m  our  own  country.  Our  accepted  axioms.  'Liberty,* 
for  example.  Chaining  the  Devil  for  a  thousand  years.  Strange  notion 
of 'Reform':  Not  practical  amendment,  but  'extension  of  the  suffrage.' 
(7). — The  intellect  that  believes  in  the  possibility  of 'improvement' by 
such  a  method,  a  finished-oif  and  shut-up  intellect.  Something  of  good 
even  in  our  '  new  Reform  measure.'  The  day  of  settlement  at  last  brought 
nearer.  He  they  call  '  Dizzy '  is  to  do  it.  Not  a  tearful  Tragedy,  but 
an  ignominious  Farce  as  well.  Beales  and  his  ragamuffins.  Home- 
Secretary  Walpole  in  tears.  A  Lord  Chief  Justice's  six  hours  of 
eloquent  imbecility.  An  actual  Martial  Law  the  unseen  basis  of  all 
wi'itten  laws,  without  which  no  effective  law  of  any  kind  would  be  even 
possible.  Governor  Eyre  and  the  Nigger  Philanthropists.  Our  Social 
Arrangements  pretty  much  an  old-established  Hypocrisy.  The  demand 
'to  become  Commonwealth  of  England,'  answered  by  official  persons  with 
a  rope  round  their  necks.  The  end  perhaps  nearer  than  expected  (10). 
— "What  the  duties  of  good  citizens,  now  and  onwards.     Possibilities  yet 

60 


SUMMARY  61 

remaining  with  our  Aristocracy.     Hopes  and  fears.     Vice-Kings  for  the 
Colonies.     Even  Dominica  enough  to  kindle  a  heroic  young  heart.     At 
present  all  gone  to  jungle  and  sublime  '  Self-government' (14). — The 
better  kind  of  our  Nobility  still  something  considerable.     Politeness  the 
beautiful  natural  index  and  outcome  of  all  that  is  kingly.     Nothing  but 
vulgarity  in  our  People's  expectations.    Conservative  varnish.    Mendacity 
hanging  in  the  Aery  air  we  breathe.     Little  help  or  hindrance  from  the 
populace.     The  unclassed  Aristoci-acy  by  nature,  supreme  in  wisdom  and 
in  courage  :   If  tliese  also  fail  us,  —  national  death.      One  is  inclined 
timidly  to  hope  the  best.     A  company  of  poor  men,  who  will  spend  all 
their  blood  rather.     It  must  at  length  come  to  battle.     While  God  lives, 
the  issue  can  or  will  fall  only  one  way  (IB). — Our  inspired  speakers  and 
seers,  who  are  to  deliver  the  world  from  its  swarmeries.     What  is  called 
Art,  Poetry  and  the  like.     How  stir  such  questions  in  the  present  limits ! 
All  real  'Art'  the  imprisoned  'Soul  of  Fact.'     The  Bible  the  truest  of 
all  Books.     Homer's  Iliad,  too,  the  truest  a  Patriotic  Ballad-singer  could 
manage  to  sing.    *  Fiction,'  and  its  alarming  cousinship  to  lying.    Modern 
'  Literature,'  like  a  poor  bottle  of  soda-water  with  the  cork  sprung. 
Shakspeare,  and  his  ability  to  have  turned  the  History  of  England  into 
an  Iliad,  almost  perhaps  into  a  kind  of  Bible.     England,  too  (equally 
with  any  Judah  whatsoever),  has  a  History  that  is  divine.     Incredible, 
and  even   impious  interpretations  (23). — New  definitions  of  Liberty  : 
What  it  veritably  signifies  in  the  speech  of  men  and  gods.     Idle  habit 
of '  accounting  for  the  Moral  Sense.'     The  Moral  Sense,  the  perennial 
Miracle  of  Man,  the  visible  link  between  Earth  and  Heaven.     Christian 
Religion,  the  soul  of  it  alive  forevermore  ;  its  dead  and  rotting  body  now 
getting  buriah     A  very  great  work  going  on  in  these  days :    '  God  and 
the  Godlike'  again  struggling  to  become  clearly  revealed  (27). — The 
Industrial  Noble,  and  his  born   brother  the  Aristocrat  by  title;   their 
united  result  what  we  want  from  both.     The  world  of  Industry  to  be 
recivilised  out  of  its  now  utter  savagery.     The  Reformed  Parliament, 
with  Trades  Unions  in  search  of  their  '  Four  eights.'     The  immense  and 
universal  question  of  Cheap  and  Nasty.      London   houses  and   house- 
building.    England  needs  to  be  rebuilt  once  every  seventy  years.     Foul 
Circe  enchantments.     The  essence  and  outcome  of  all  religion,  to  do 
one's  work  in  a  faithful  manner  (30).— Constant  invocation  of  the  Devil, 
and  diabolic  short-cuts  towards  wages.     The  'prestige  of  England  on  the 
Continent.'     Account  as  it  stands  in  Heaven's  Chancery  (3.5).— Oppor- 
tunities and  possibilities  of  Kingship  still  open  to  our  titular  Aristocracy. 
Human  worth :   To  recognise  merit,  a  man  must  first  have  it.     Right 
Schools  never  more  needed  than  now.     Unless  our  Noble  by  rank  be  a 
Noble  by  nature,  little  or  no  success  is  possible  by  him.     Non-vocal 
schools,  presided  over  by  '  pious  Wisdom '  (37).— The  Drill-Sergeant,  the 
one  official  reality.     Blessedness  of  wise  drill  in  every  activity  of  life. 


62  MISCELLANIES 

The  richest  and  deepest  element  in  all  practical  education.  Silent 
charm  of  rhythmic  human  companionship.  Soldier-drill,  the  last  or 
finishing  touch  of  all  sorts  of  Drilling.  Our  wise  hero  Aristocrat,  with 
his  private  Field-regiment.  The  issue  very  certain  when  it  comes  so  far 
as  that  (40).— AV^ide  enterprise  still  possible.  Few  noble  Lords,  as  noble 
Lords  now  are,  could  do  much  good  in  it.  Much  the  readiest  likelihood 
for  our  Aristocrat  by  title  would  be,  to  coalesce  nobly  with  his  'two 
untitled  Brothers.'  Were  there  but  three  of  each  sort  in  the  whole  of 
Britain,  what  a  'Parliament'  they  might  be!  (44). — Penny-Newspaper 
Parliaments.  Immense  body  of  Laws  pressingly  wanted,  and  none  of 
mortals  knows  where  to  get  them.  Beyond  doubt  the  vulgar  noble  Lord 
intends  fully  to  continue  his  game, — to  keep  weltering  atop,  however 
ignominiously.     Let  us  hope  he  will  be  wise  in  time  (46). 

LATTER  STAGE  OF  THE  FRENCH-GERMAN  WAR,  1870-71 

English  ignorance  of  the  mutual  history  of  France  and  Germany.  Not 
now  a  question  of  mere  'magnanimity'  between  them,  but  of  practical 
security.  Louis  xi.  and  Kaiser  Max.  Burgundy  becomes  French  (p.  49). 
— Francis  i.  tries  to  become  Kaiser.  Broken  treaties,  and  ever-recurring 
strife  with  Charles  v.  Lets  loose  the  fury  and  fanaticism  of  the  Turks 
upon  Christendom  and  the  German  Empire.  Richelieu's  pernicious 
meddling  in  the  Thii-ty- Years  War  (50). — Louis  xiv.'s  plunderings  and 
burnings  of  Europe.  Belleisle's  and  Louis  xv.'s  fine  schemes  for  Germany. 
The  Revolution  and  Napoleon  i.  No  nation  ever  had  so  bad  a  neighbour 
as  Germany  had  in  France.  Germany  now  at  last  in  a  position  to  see 
itself  righted.  Restoration  of  goods  basely  plundered  :  Strasburg  and 
Metz  (51). — The  'honour'  of  France.  Her  late  disgraceful  assault  on 
Germany,  and  its  ignominious  execution.  Only  repentance  can  make 
her  what  she  once  was.  For  the  present,  becoming  more  and  more 
delirious.  Balloons  ballasted  with  lies.  The  one  hope  for  France,  to 
recognise  the  facts  which  have  come  to  her,  and  that  they  came  by 
invitation  of  her  own  (54). — French  'men  of  genius'  and  their  semi- 
delirious  extravagances.  The  'Insurrection  against  Shams'  indispens- 
able, however  ugly.  The  infinitely  'harder  half  of  the  battle  still  more 
indispensable.  The  German  race,  not  the  Gaelic,  now  to  be  protagonist 
in  the  world-drama.  Might  there  not  be  a  Cartouche  of  Nations  fully  as 
likely  as  a  'Chi-ist  of  Nations'  in  our  time?  (55). — Lord  Carteret  once 
hoped  to  recover  Alsace  and  Lorraine  for  Germany.  Bismarck,  and 
Germany  with  him,  will  make  sure  work  of  it.  The  'Siege  of  Paris' 
Considerable  misconception  as  to  Bismarck  long  prevalent  in  England. 
Not  a  person  of  '  Napoleonic '  ideas.  Noble,  patient  Germany  at  length 
welded  into  a  Nation,  and  become  Queen  of  the  Continent  (58). 


PAPERS  COLLECTED 
FOR  THE  FIRST  TIME 


MONTAIGNE^ 

Michel  de  Montaigne,  a  celebrated  French  writer,  was  born 
at  the  Chateau  de  Montaigne,  near  Bergerac,  upon  the  Dor- 
dogne,  on  the  28th  of  February,  1533.  He  was  the  third 
son  of  Pierre  Ey quern,  a  man  of  rank  and  probity,  who 
appears  to  have  discharged  the  paternal  duties  with  extra- 
ordinary care.  Young  Michel  was  awakened  every  morning 
by  soft  music,  lest  sudden  excitation  might  injure  his  health  ; 
and  a  German  domestic,  unacquainted  with  the  French 
language,  taught  him  to  express  his  first  ideas  in  Latin. 
At  the  age  of  six  years,  he  was  sent  to  the  College  of 
Bordeaux,  then  conducted  by  the  most  celebrated  precep- 
tors in  France,  one  of  whom  was  our  distinguished  country- 
man, George  Buchanan.  Montaigne's  knowledge  of  Latin, 
acquired  in  a  manner  so  uncommon,  was  here  of  some  avail  to 
him  ;  and  though  we  may  be  allowed  to  doubt  his  assertion, 
that  the  masters  '  were  afraid  to  accost  him,'  the  instructions 
of  his  nurse  must  have  materially  contributed  to  form  that 
minute  and  extensive  acquaintance  with  classical  literature, 
and  that  strong  tinge  of  Latinity,  for  which  his  writings  are 
so  remarkable. 

After  seven  years  occupied  in  such  studies,  Montaigne, 
with  the  view  of  becoming  a  lawyer,  engaged  in  the  requisite 
course  of  preparation  ;  but  his  love  of  jurisprudence,  and  his 
progress  in  that  science,  appear  to  have  been  equally  small. 
The  ParHament  of  Bordeaux  seldom  witnessed  his  official 
exertions  ;  and  after  his  elder  brother's  death,  from  the  stroke 
of  a  tennis-ball,  he  gladly  exchanged  the  advocate's  gown  for 

^  Edinburgh  Encyclopedia,  vol.  xiv. 
VOL.  V.  E 


66  MISCELLANIES 

the  sword  of  a  country  gentleman.  A  short  time  after 
1560,  he  married  Fran9oise,  daughter  of  a  celebrated  pleader, 
Joseph  de  la  Chassagne ;  and,  possessing  the  Chateau  de 
Montaigne,  which  his  father  bequeathed  to  him  in  1569,  en- 
joying a  competent  fortune  and  domestic  happiness,  he  had 
full  leisure  to  combine  rural  and  intellectual  employment,  in 
the  most  suitable  proportion.  Study  seems,  however,  to  have 
attracted  nearly  all  his  attention  ;  riding  afforded  a  healthful 
and  favourite  exercise ;  he  lived  remote  from  the  political 
quarrels  which,  at  that  period,  distracted  his  country ;  and 
few  avocations  enticed  him  from  reading,  or  committing  to 
paper  such  reflections  as  that  reading  excited,  in  whatever 
order  they  occurred.  Before  the  decease  of  his  father,  Mon- 
taigne had  translated  the  Natural  Theology  of  Raymond  de 
Sebonde;  and,  in  1571,  he  superintended  the  posthumous 
publication  of  his  friend,  the  Sieur  de  la  Boetie's  works. 
He  did  not  appear  in  the  character  of  an  original  author, 
till  1580,  when  the  fruit  of  his  meditations  was  published 
under  the  title  of  Essays,  at  Bordeaux.  Eight  years  after- 
wards, in  a  new  edition  prepared  under  his  eye  at  Paris,  the 
work  was  augmented  by  a  third  book,  and  many  additions  to 
the  part  already  published. 

In  this  singular  production,  Montaigne  completely  fulfils 
the  promise  of  '  painting  himself  in  his  natural  and  simple 
mood,  without  study  or  artifice.'  And  though  Scaliger  might 
perhaps  reasonably  ask,  "  What  matters  it  whether  Montaigne 
liked  white  wine  or  claret  ? "" — a  modern  reader  will  not  easily 
cavil  at  the  patient  and  good-natured,  though  exuberant, 
egotism,  which  brings  back  to  our  view  <  the  form  and 
pressure'  of  a  time  long  past.  The  habits  and  humours, 
the  mode  of  acting  and  thinking  which  characte-rised  a 
Gascon  gentleman  in  the  sixteenth  century,  cannot  fail  to 
amuse  an  inquirer  of  the  nineteenth  ;  Av'hile  the  faithful 
delineation  of  human  feelings  in  all  their  strength  and  weak- 
ness, will  serve  as  a  mirror  to  every  mind  capable  of  self- 
examination.     But  if  details,  otherwise  frivolous,  are  pardoned, 


MONTAIGNE  67 

because  of  the  antique  charm  which  is  about  them,  no  excuse 
or  even  apology  of  a  satisfactory  kind,  can  be  devised  for  the 
gross  indelicacy  which  frequently  deforms  these  Essays  ;  and 
as  Montaigne,  by  an  abundant  store  of  bold  ideas,  and  a  deep 
insight  into  the  principles  of  our  common  nature,  deserves  to 
be  ranked  high  among  the  great  men  of  his  own  original  age, 
he  also  deserves  the  bad  pre-eminence,  in  love  at  once  of 
coarseness  and  obscenity. 

The  desultory,  careless  mode,  in  which  the  materials  of  the 
Essays  are  arranged,  indicates  a  feature  in  the  author's  charac- 
ter to  which  his  style  has  likewise  a  resemblance.  With  him, 
more  than  with  any  other,  words  may  be  called  the  garment 
of  thought ;  the  expression  is  frequently  moulded  to  fit  the 
idea,  never  the  idea  to  fit  the  expression.  The  negligence, 
and  occasional  obscurity  of  his  manner,  are  more  than  com- 
pensated by  the  warmth  of  an  imagination,  bestowing  on  his 
language  a  nervousness,  and  often  a  picturesque  beauty,  which 
we  should  in  vain  seek  elsewhere. 

From  the  perusal  of  those  Essays,  it  is  natural  to  infer, 
that  the  author  must  have  studied  men,  not  only  in  the  closet 
but  the  world.  Accordingly,  we  find,  that  Montaigne  had 
travelled  over  France,  entertained  the  King  in  his  chateau, 
and  more  than  once  visited  the  court,  where  Charles  ix.  grati- 
fied him  by  spontaneously  bestowing  the  collar  of  the  order  of 
St.  Michel.  After  the  first  publication  of  his  Essays  he  did 
not  long  continue  stationary.  In  this  case,  however,  the 
desire  of  viewing  foreign  countries  was  but  secondary  to 
that  of  freeing  himself  from  a  nephritic  disorder  which  had 
afflicted  him  for  several  years,  and  which,  having  no  faith  in 
physicians,  he  sought  to  alleviate  by  the  use  of  mineral  waters. 
With  this  intention  he  left  home  in  1581,  and,  attended  by 
sevei'al  of  his  friends,  traversed  Lorraine,  Switzerland,  Bavaria, 
and  Italy,  From  the  baths  of  Plombieres,  Baden,  and  Lucca, 
he  came  to  Rome,  where,  among  other  honours  that  awaited 
him,  he  received  the  freedom  of  the  city,  and  soon  afterwards 
received   intelligence  that   his  countrymen   of  Bordeaux   had 


68  MISCELLANIES 

elected  him  their  mayor.^  At  the  King's  command,  he  re- 
turned from  Italy  to  undertake  this  office ;  and  his  con- 
stituents signified  their  approbation  of  his  conduct  in  it  by 
continuing  his  appointment  for  another  two  years. 

The  remaining  portion  of  Montaigne's  life  was  chiefly  spent 
in  revising  his  Essays,  It  was  disturbed  by  the  tumults  of 
the  League,  and  finally  by  the  ravages  of  the  pestilence,  which 
compelled  him  for  a  short  j^eriod  to  leave  his  home.  One  of 
his  last  journeys  was  to  Paris  for  the  publication  of  his 
works ;  and  during  his  return,  he  remained  some  days  at 
Blois,  to  witness  the  proceedings  of  the  States-General  as- 
sembled there  in  1588.  He  is  said  to  have  predicted  to  his 
friend,  the  famous  de  Thou,  that  Henry  iv.  would  embrace 
the  Catholic  religion,  and  restore  peace  to  France. 

But  the  use  of  mineral  waters  had  not  banished  Mon- 
taigne's hereditary  distemper ;  and  his  constitution,  weakened 
by  it,  was  unable  to  sustain  the  attack  of  an  inflammation  of 
the  throat,  which  seized  him  in  September  1592.  On  the 
17th  of  that  month,  the  disorder  had  deprived  him  of  the 
use  of  speech ;  but  as  his  mental  faculties  remained  unim- 
paired, he  desired  his  wife,  in  writing,  to  send  for  certain  of 
his  neighbours,  that  he  might  bid  them  farewell.  After  the 
arrival  of  these  persons,  mass  was  said  in  his  chamber.  At 
the  elevation  of  the  host,  Montaigne,  with  an  effort,  raised 
himself  upon  his  bed,  and,  clasping  his  hands  together, 
expired  in  that  pious  attitude.  He  had  almost  completed 
his  sixtieth  year. 

The  character  of  Montaigne  is  amply  delineated  in  his 
Essays.  On  contemplating  this  picture,  we  are  surprised  to 
find  the  principles  of  a  stoic  incongruously  mingled  with  the   m 

^  About  fifty  years  ago,  a  manuscript  account  of  this  journey  was  accidentally 
found  in  the  chateau  which  Montaigne  inhabited.  Being  ascertained  to  be  his 
composition,  it  was  published  in  1774.  But  neither  the  curiosity  attached  to 
everything  which  bears  the  name  of  Montaigne,  nor  the  learned  notes  of  M. 
Querlon,  are  sufficient  to  make  us  relish  the  insignificant  and  often  disgusting 
contents  of  a  work  that  seems  never  to  have  been  at  all  intended  for  meeting 
general  inspection. 


MONTAIGNE  69 

practice  of  an  epicure  ;  and  the  pillozv  of  doubt,  upon  which 
during  the  flow  of  health  he  professed  to  repose,  exchanged 
in  sickness  for  the  opiates  of  superstition.  But  notwith- 
standing these  inconsistencies,  it  is  impossible  to  avoid  ad- 
miring the  continued  benignity  and  pensive  gaiety  which 
distinguished  his  temper.  The  amiableness  of  his  private  life 
is  attested  by  the  fact,  that  under  the  five  monarchs  who, 
during  his  time,  successively  swayed  the  sceptre  of  a  king- 
dom torn  with  fanatical  divisions,  his  person  and  property 
were  always  respected  by  both  parties ;  and  few,  at  an 
advanced  age,  can  say  like  him,  that  they  are  yet  untainted 
with  a  quarrel  or  a  law-suit. 

His  essays  have  been  abridged,  translated  and  given  to  the 
world  in  various  shapes.  The  most  valued  edition  is  that  of 
London,  1724,  in  which  the  original  expressions  are  scrupu- 
lously retained,  and  ably  illustrated  by  the  notes  of  M.  Coste. 


LADY  MARY  WORTLEY  MONTAGU^ 

Lady  Mary  Wortley  Montagu,  the  eldest  daughter  of 
Evelyn  Pierrepont,  Earl,  and  afterwards  Duke,  of  Kingston, 
was  born  at  Thoresbj,  in  Nottinghamshire,  about  the  year 
1690.  Though  four  years  afterwards  she  lost  her  mother, 
the  Lady  Mary  Fielding,  daughter  of  William,  Earl  of 
Denbigh,  her  education  was  conducted  with  all  the  care 
which  so  promising  a  genius  seemed  to  deserve.  In  addition 
to  the  usual  accomplishments,  she  easily  gained  from  the 
preceptors  of  her  brother.  Viscount  Newark,  a  considerable 
knowledge  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  languages,  to  which  she 
soon  added  French  and  Italian.  The  famous  Gilbert  Burnet, 
Bishop  of  Salisbury,  is  said  to  have  guided  and  encouraged] 
her  more  advanced  studies ;  a  manuscript  translation  oi 
Epictetus,  which  she  executed  during  a  week  in  the  summei 
of  1710,  yet  bears  the  corrections  of  that  distinguishe( 
prelate. 

Whilst  making  acquisitions,  at  that  period  so  rare  amongj 
persons  of  her  sex  and  rank,  the  young  lady  continued  prin- 
cipally at  Thoresby  or  at  Acton,  near  London.  In  these] 
narrow  circles  her  liveliness  and  spirits  were  already  no  lessj 
remarkable  than  her  learning.  Mrs.,  or  as  we  should  no^ 
say.  Miss  Ann  Wortley,  daughter  of  the  Honourable  Sidney! 
Montagu,  seems  to  have  been  her  most  intimate  associate ; 
and  this  early  friendship  gave  rise  to  her  acquaintance  with! 
a  son  of  the  same  nobleman,  Edward  Wortley  Montagu,  to: 
whom,  after  two  years,  she  was  privately  married,  on  the 
12th  of  August  1712.     The  valuable,  though  not  brilliant,! 

^  Edinburgh  Encydopcedia,  vol.  xiv. 
70 


1 


.=Ja^^7/u/7/  &pr^/j._y/4/^;//a.a-a- 


LADY  MARY  WORTLEY  MONTAGU  71 

qualifications  of  this  gentleman,  were  long  exercised  in  Parlia- 
ment, where  his  graceful  manner  and  knowledge  of  business 
secured  him  considerable  influence.  At  the  period  of  his 
marriage,  the  fathers  of  both  parties  being  alive,  he  could  not 
offer  his  wife  such  an  establishment  as  to  permit  her  accom- 
panying him  to  London  during  his  political  engagements  : 
for  the  first  three  years  of  their  union  she  lived  chiefly  at 
Warncliffe-lodge,  near  Sheffield.  But,  after  the  death  of 
Queen  Anne  in  1714,  when  Charles  Montagu,  who  conveyed 
the  intelligence  of  that  event  to  George  i.  had  been  raised 
from  the  dignity  of  baron,  to  that  of  earl,  Halifax,  and 
farther  created  first  lord  of  the  treasury,  that  nobleman  did 
not  overlook  the  services  of  his  cousin  Mr.  Wortley,  who  soon 
obtained  the  appointment  of  commissioner  in  the  same 
department.  The  nature  of  his  office  placed  him  in  con- 
nection with  the  court  ;  and  the  appearance  of  Lady  Mary, 
who  now  first  visited  that  scene,  attracted  universal  admira- 
tion. Her  beauty  and  genius  were  praised,  her  conversation 
was  coveted  by  the  highest  ranks  of  the  nobility,  and  a  more 
honourable  tribute  was  paid  to  her  talents  in  the  esteem 
which  she  obtained  from  Pope  and  Addison. 

The  short-lived  pleasures  of  such  a  scene  had  scarcely  yet 
found  time  to  lose  their  novelty,  when  Lady  Mary  was  called 
to  visit  objects  of  a  far  more  diversified  and  striking  nature. 
In  the  summer  of  1716,  Mr.  Wortley  resigned  his  situation 
at  the  Treasury-Board,  in  consequence  of  an  appointment  to 
occupy  the  place  of  Sir  Robert  Sutton,  Ambassador  at  Con- 
stantinople, who  had  been  removed  to  Vienna,  and  directed 
to  co-operate  with  his  successor,  in  endeavouring  to  terminate 
the  war  between  the  Austrian  s  and  Turks,  which  at  that  time 
raged  with  extreme  violence.  In  the  month  of  August  Mr. 
Wortley  left  England,  and  his  lady  did  not  hesitate  to 
accompany  him  in  a  journey  which,  though  tedious,  and  not 
without  hazard,  promised  to  offer  such  a  field  for  observation 
and  enjoyment,  as  great  skill  in  modern  languages,  and  con- 
siderable acquaintance  with  classical  antiquities,  rendered  her 


72  MISCELLANIES 

well  qualified  to  profit  by.  After  leaving  Holland  and 
Germany,  the  embassy  continued  two  months  at  Adrianople. 
Sultan  Achmed  iii.,  whom  they  found  here,  is  said  to  have 
shown  a  more  frank  disposition,  and  less  solicitude  about  the 
Koran  than  usually  happens  with  a  Turkish  prince.  To  this 
circumstance  it  is  generally  ascribed,  that  Lady  Mary  was 
enabled  to  augment  her  acquaintance  with  eastern  manners, 
by  an  examination  of  the  Harem,  never  before  or  since  per- 
mitted to  any  European. 

The  knowledge  which  she  gathered  respecting  the  habits 
and  character  of  this  people  was  minute,  her  mode  of  com- 
municating it  lively  and  entertaining.  But  Europe,  in 
general,  owes  to  her  residence  in  Turkey  a  much  more  solid 
advantage  than  any  such  entertainment.  Whilst  passing 
the  summer  months  at  Belgrade,  not  far  from  the  shore  of 
the  Bosporus,  Lady  Mary  had  occasion  to  observe  a  custom 
practised  by  the  peasants,  which  was  said  to  guard  them  from 
the  effects  of  small-pox,  a  dreadful,  and  at  that  time,  cureless 
malady.  She  examined  the  process  of  engrafting  or  inocula- 
tion, as  it  was  afterwards  called,  became  convinced  of  its 
efficacy,  and  with  a  courage  for  which  humanity  is  deeply 
indebted,  she  consented  to  have  the  operation  tried  upon  her 
son,  at  that  time  about  three  years  old.  Edward  Wortley 
Montagu,  afterwards  so  celebrated  for  his  rambling  eccentric 
character,  sustained  the  experiment  without  hurt,  in  the 
month  of  March  1718.  The  event  encouraged  his  mother 
to  form  the  hope  of  establishing  a  practice  so  salutary  in 
her  own  country.  It  is  well  known  that,  after  a  lapse  of 
some  years,  the  zealous  support  which  she  bestowed  on  the 
attempts  of  Mr.  Maitland,  her  physician,  to  introduce  inocu- 
lation, on  his  return  to  England,  was  at  length  crowned  with 
success.  In  1721,  government  allowed  five  criminals  to 
avoid  the  sentence  of  death  by  submitting  to  this  process ; 
the  successful  experiment  was  sanctioned  by  the  College  of 
Physicians ;  inoculation  obtained  the  patronage  of  the  Royal 
Family,  and  had  finally  triumphed  over  all  opposition,  when, 


< 


LADY  MARY  WORTLEY  MONTAGU  73 

eighty  years  afterwards,  the  more  precious  discovery  of  Jenner 
promised  entirely  to  extirpate  the  disorder. 

Lady  Mary  was  not  long  detained  from  the  society  of  her 
friends  in  England.  Mr.  Wortley's  conduct  was  approved  of 
both  by  the  Courts  of  St.  James's  and  Vienna  ;  but,  owing 
to  the  exorbitant  demands  of  the  latter,  his  negotiations 
entirely  failed.  His  letters  of  recall,  countersigned  by 
Addison,  are  dated  21st  October  1717  ;  and  on  the  follow- 
ing 5th  of  June,  he  and  his  family  commenced  their  journey 
to  Britain,  where,  after  visiting  Tunis,  Genoa,  Lyons,  and 
Paris,  they  arrived  on  the  30th  of  October  1718. 

At  the  Court  of  George  i..  Lady  Mary  was  received  with 
increased  distinction.  The  celebrity  arising  from  her  travels, 
the  fund  of  new  ideas  acquired  in  the  course  of  them,  the 
graphical  and  spirited  mode  in  which  she  described  what  she 
had  seen,  gave  a  new  charm  to  her  already  fascinating  con- 
versation. She  obtained  particular  notice  from  the  Princess 
of  Wales,  afterwards  Queen  Caroline,  and  by  her  brilliant 
acquirements  excited  the  praise  or  the  envy  of  every  com- 
petitor for  such  honours  as  the  admiration  of  a  court  can 
bestow.  The  excellence  of  her  sprightly  conversation  had 
already  been  stamped  by  the  approbation  of  Pope  ;  and  at 
her  return  from  Turkey,  the  poet  appears  to  have  manifested 
the  continuance  of  that  friendship  which  his  lively,  though 
rather  affected,  letters,  had  so  warmly  expressed  during  her 
absence.  He  earnestly  invited  her  to  take  up  her  residence 
at  Twickenham,  and  had  the  pleasure  of  successfully  negotiat- 
ing a  lease  of  Sir  Godfrey  Kneller's  house  for  her  reception. 
In  this  celebrated  village  Lady  Mary  could  occasionally  ex- 
change the  gaieties  of  fashionable  life  at  London  for  the 
company  of  those  celebrated  characters  who  frequented  the 
society  of  Pope,  and  diversify  the  flatteries  of  Dr.  Young  and 
her  second  cousin  Henry  Fielding,  by  the  conversation  of 
Swift,  Gay,  and  Arbuthnot. 

But  the  friendship  of  wits  is  proverbially  fragile.  In  the 
case   of  Pope  and  Lady  Mary,  its  existence,  rendered  pre- 


74  MISCELLANIES 

carious  by  the  conflicting  claims  of  a  vanity,  which  on  both 
sides  sought  gratification  in  the  dangerous  province  of  satire, 
was  shortened  by  political  hostility.  Dissatisfied  with  the 
quantity  of  praise  which  the  world  bestowed  on  Pope  for 
correcting  her  productions,  and  which  the  poet,  it  was 
thought,  did  not  steadily  enough  refuse,  Lady  Mary  had 
for  some  time  omitted  consulting  him  on  such  occasions  ; 
and  this  coldness  was  increased  at  the  accession  of  George  ii. 
by  her  avowed  partiality  for  Sir  Robert  Walpole,  and  her 
intimacy  with  Lord  Hervey,  which  could  not  but  offend  a 
professed  follower  of  Bolingbroke.  The  publication  of  the 
Town  Eclogues  completed  this  alienation.  Lady  Mary  had 
several  years  before  submitted  these  poems  to  Pope's  in- 
spection, and,  as  the  satire  or  scandal  they  were  supposed  to 
contain,  rendered  them  an  object  of  general  curiosity,  copies 
were  extensively  circulated,  and  to  print  them  became  a  fit 
speculation  for  the  noted  Edmund  Curl.  In  spite  of  remon- 
strances and  threats,  the  work  came  out  under  Pope's  name ; 
and  Lady  Mary  defrauded  of  praise,  and  suspecting  collusion, 
not  only  renounced  all  intercourse  with  him,  but  displayed  the 
resentment  of  forfeited  friendship  in  bitter  sarcasms,  which 
were  too  faithfully  reported  to  the  object  of  them.  The 
irritable  nature  of  Pope  was  little  calculated  to  brook  such 
treatment.  His  opinion  of  Lady  Mary,  under  the  name  of 
Sappho,  expressed  in  his  satires  with  more  rancour  than  taste 
or  wit,  called  forth  from  his  victim,  and  her  coadjutor.  Lord 
Hervey,  also  stigmatised  under  the  name  of  Sporus,  those 
"  verses  addressed  to  the  translator  of  the  first  Satire  of  the 
Second  Book  of  Horace,"  the  private  circulation  of  which 
produced  a  letter  from  Pope  to  his  antagonists,  disavowing 
any  such  intention  as  the  one  imputed  to  him.  Much  has  been 
said  of  the  malignity  displayed  by  Pope  in  this  attack,  and 
of  the  meanness  with  which  he  attempted  to  recede  from  it. 
Certainly  the  accusations  brought  against  Sappho  are  of  a 
character  sufficiently  black,  and  the  author's  equivocal  state- 
ments  about   their   application  seem    to  argue   considerable 


LADY  MARY  WORTLEY  MONTAGU  75 

weakness  of  mind  :  but  if,  without  investigating  how  far  such 
accusations  might  be  founded  on  truth,  we  condemn  the  man 
who,  untler  the  mask  of  a  moralist,  stoops  to  gratify  his 
individual  hatred,  we  are  compelled  at  the  same  time  to 
admit,  that  his  antagonists  appear  to  have  wanted  the  power 
rather  than  the  will,  to  be  equally  barbarous.  It  is  matter 
of  regret,  that  the  friendship  of  Pope  and  Lady  Mary  was 
converted  into  enmity  :  but  the  means  adopted  by  the  one 
party  to  satisfy  that  enmity  were  hardly  less  blameable  than 
those  adopted  by  the  other.  A  fierce,  though  dull,  execra- 
tion of  Pope's  malice  and  deformity,  is  but  awkwardly  blended 
with  censures  of  his  virulence  and  coarseness. 

The  quarrel  with  this  formidable  satirist  produced  dis- 
agreeable results  for  Lady  Montagu.  It  no  doubt  contributed 
to  spread  those  black  reports  about  her  character  and  con- 
duct, to  which  the  many  victims  of  her  sarcastic  pleasantry 
were  at  all  times  willing  listeners.  She  still  lived  at  court 
with  the  great  and  gay,  sharing  or  directing  their  amuse- 
ments, admired  for  the  pungency  of  her  wit,  and  the  spright- 
liness  of  her  occasional  verses,  but  her  life  seems  not  to  have 
been  happy.  To  other  sources  of  solicitude,  ill  health  was 
at  last  added;  and  in  1739,  with  Mr.  Wortley's  consent, 
she  resolved  to  fix  her  abode  in  Italy.  Passing  through 
Venice,  where  much  respect  was  shown  to  her,  she  visited 
Rome  and  Naples,  and  after  having  spent  several  months  at 
Chambery  and  Avignon,  she  finally  settled  at  Brescia.  From 
this  city,  she  afterwards  removed  to  Lovere,  on  the  northern 
shore  of  the  Lake  Iseo,  for  the  benefit  of  its  mineral  waters  ; 
where,  having  purchased  and  refitted  an  elegant  house,  she 
divided  her  attention  between  reading  and  managing  the 
concerns  of  her  vineyard.  With  a  small  and  select  society, 
she  seems  to  have  enjoyed  more  contentment  in  this  retired 
situation  than  her  former  habits  w^ould  have  led  us  to  expect. 
About  the  year  1758,  however,  she  exchanged  her  solitude 
for  the  amusements  of  Venice,  in  which  city  she  remained  till 
1761,  the  period  of  Mr.  Wortley's  death.      She  then  yielded 


76  MISCELLANIES 

to  the  solicitations  of  her  daughter,  the  Countess  of  Bute, 
and  after  an  absence  of  twenty-two  years,  she  returned  to 
England  in  the  month  of  October.  But  her  health  had 
suffered  much,  and  a  gradual  decline  terminated  in  death,  on 
the  21st  of  August  1762. 

Overawed  by  Pope  and  his  associates.  Lady  Mary  had 
ventured  to  publish  nothing  during  her  lifetime.  The  Town 
Eclogues,  above  alluded  to,  were  printed  under  Pope's  name, 
and  though  his  editors  have  continued  to  assign  the  "  Basset 
Table,"  with  the  "Drawing  Room,"  to  him,  and  the  "Toilet" 
to  Gay,  she  seems,  in  fact,  to  have  been  the  author  of  them 
all.  Several  of  her  other  poems  had  appeared  in  different 
collections,  but  it  was  without  her  permission.  If  we  may 
judge,  however,  from  an  expression  employed  in  writing  to 
her  sister,  the  Countess  of  Mar,  it  would  seem  that  Lady 
Mary  contemplated  the  posthumous  publication  of  her  letters  ; 
and,  towards  the  conclusion  of  her  residence  in  Italy,  she 
had  actually  transcribed  that  part  of  them  which  relates  to 
Mr.  Wortley''s  embassy.  The  manuscript,  intrusted  to  Mr. 
Lowden,  a  clergyman  at  Rotterdam,  was  surreptitiously 
printed  by  Beckett  in  1763  ;  and  the  curiosity  which  it  had 
long  excited  in  the  world,  was  finally  gratified  by  the  publi- 
cation of  all  her  poems  and  letters  in  1803.  The  edition, 
undertaken  at  the  request  of  her  grandson,  the  Earl  of  Bute, 
was  superintended  by  Mr.  Dallaway,  who  prefixed  to  it  a  life 
of  the  author. 

Concerning  the  merits  of  Lady  Montagu's  poems,  it  is  not 
necessary  to  say  much.  Suggested  chiefly  by  ephemeral 
topics,  they  seem  to  have  been  written  without  great  care. 
They  are  not  polished,  but  across  their  frequent  harshness 
and  infelicity  of  expression,  we  can  easily  discern  consider- 
able vivacity  of  conception,  accompanied  with  some  acuteness 
in  discriminating  character  and  delineating  manners.  It  is 
to  be  regretted  that  they  are  not  always  free  from  indelicacy. 

But  Lady  Mary's  principal  merit  is  to  be  sought  for  in 
her  letters.      Those  written  during  the  embassy  were  loudly 


LADY  MARY  WORTLEY  MONTAGU  77 

applauded  at  first,  and  they  have  since  maintained  a  con- 
spicuous place  in  this  still  scanty  department  of  English 
literature.  The  official  character  of  Mr.  Wortley  procured 
her  admittance  to  whatever  was  splendid  or  attractive  in  every 
country  Avhich  they  visited.  She  seems  to  have  been  con- 
tented with  herself,  and  therefore  willing  to  be  pleased  with 
others  ;  and  her  cheerful  sprightly  imagination,  the  elegance, 
the  ease,  and  airiness  of  her  style,  are  deservedly  admired. 
Succeeding  and  more  minute  observers  have  confirmed  the 
accuracy  of  her  graphic  descriptions.  Her  other  letters  are 
of  a  similar  stamp.  The  continual  gaiety,  the  pungent  wit, 
with  which  she  details  the  passing  follies  of  a  court,  but  too 
successfully  imitating  that  of  Louis  xv.,  render  her  letters 
extremely  amusing.  In  those  written  from  her  retirement  at 
Lover,  we  discern  the  same  shrewdness  of  observation,  with  a 
little  more  carelessness  of  expression.  The  pensive,  calm 
regret,  which  they  breathe,  and,  above  all,  the  tender  aff*ection 
for  her  daughter,  the  Countess  of  Bute,  to  whom  they  are 
generally  addressed,  perhaps  more  than  compensate  for  the 
absence  of  that  flow  of  spirits  and  exuberance  of  incident, 
which  distinguished  the  correspondence  of  her  youth.  In  a 
literary  point  of  view,  Lady  Mary's  writings  certainly  do  not 
belong  to  a  very  elevated  class,  but  they  occupy  the  first  rank 
in  their  class.  Considering  the  times  and  the  circumstances 
of  the  writer,  they  may  safely  be  called  extraordinary.  And, 
though  the  general  difiiision  of  knowledge  within  the  last 
century  has  rendered  it  common  for  females  to  write  with 
elegance  and  skill  upon  far  higher  subjects.  Lady  Mary 
deserves  to  be  remembered  as  the  first  Englishwoman,  who 
combined  the  knowledge  of  classical  and  modern  literature 
with  a  penetrating  judgment  and  correct  taste. 


MONTESQUIEU^ 

Charles  de  Secondat,  Baron  of  Montesquieu,  and  likewise 
of  La  Brede,  Avas  born  at  the  mansion-house  of  the  latter 
estate,  near  Bordeaux,  on  the  18th  of  January  1689.  His 
father,  at  one  time  a  soldier,  had  soon  relinquished  that  pro- 
fession :  and  young  Montesquieu  was  early  destined  to  the 
bar,  from  which  his  paternal  grandfather  and  uncle  had 
successively  risen  to  the  dignity  oi president  a  moj-tier"  in  the 
parliament  of  their  native  province.  His  education  was 
carefully  attended  to  ;  and  the  flattering  presages  of  child- 
hood, being  in  this  case  followed  by  judicious  management, 
were  afterwards  completely  verified.  On  the  24th  of 
February  1714,  he  became  an  advocate  in  the  parliament  of 
Bordeaux ;  and  the  office  of  president  a  mortier  in  that  court 
was  consigned  to  him  by  the  uncle  already  mentioned,  on  the 
13th  of  July  1716.  He  also  inherited  the  property  of  that 
relation,  who  had  lost  an  only  son. 

The  new  president  sustained  the  reputation  which  his 
predecessor  had  acquired.  His  colleagues  showed  what 
opinion  they  entertained  of  his  address  and  integrity,  by 
charging  him  with  the  remonstrance,  Avhich  they  judged  it 
proper  to  make,  against  the  imposition  of  a  new  tax,  during 
the  minority  of  Louis  xv.  in  1722.  This  delicate  task  he 
successfully  accomplished. 

But  the  attainment  of  professional  honour  was  not  the 
chief  object  of  Montesquieu's  ambition.  Following  the  in- 
stinctive bent  of  genius,  he  was  unwearied  in  acquiring  general 

'  Edinburgh  Encyclopedia,  vol.  xiv. 

'  Vice-President.     A  mortier  relates  to  the  species  of  cap  worn  by  that  officer. 
78 


MONTESQUIEU  79 

knowledge ;  and  his  vigorous  mind  seems,  at  an  early  period, 
to  have  conceived  the  germ  of  those  ideas,  which  he  after- 
wards so  brilliantly  developed  in  his  writings.  Before  the 
age  of  twenty,  he  had  studied,  with  higher  views  than  those 
of  a  mere  lawyer,  the  voluminous  works  which  treat  of  Roman 
jurisprudence :  his  regular  abstract  of  their  contents  was 
probably  the  ground-work  of  the  Esprit  des  Lois.  But 
though  already  cherishing  the  hope  of  fame,  he  felt  no  im- 
patience to  show  himself  before  the  world.  It  was  not  till 
the  age  of  thirty-two,  that  his  first  production,  the  Lettres 
Persanes,  was  given  to  the  public  in  1721,  without  the 
author's  name.  If  the  Siamois  of  Dufreni,  or  the  Espion 
Turc,  suggested  the  plan  of  this  work,  its  execution  is  entirely 
original.  "  The  delineation  of  oriental  manners,''  says 
d'Alembert,  "  real  or  supposed,  of  the  pride  and  the  dulness 
of  Asiatic  love,  is  but  the  smallest  of  the  author's  objects  ;  it 
serves  only,  so  to  speak,  as  a  pretext  for  his  delicate  satire  of 
our  customs ;  and  for  other  important  matters  which  he 
fathoms,  though  appearing  but  to  glance  at  them."  The 
work  was  generally  read  and  admired  :  but  some  censures 
bestowed  upon  the  conduct  of  Louis  xiv.  caused  it  to  be 
regarded  with  an  evil  eye  at  Court ;  and  one  or  two  sar- 
casms levelled  at  the  Pope  awakened  the  zeal  of  such  as 
were  rigidly  devout,  or  found  it  convenient  to  seem  so. 
The  author  was  industriously  represented  as  a  man  equally 
hostile  to  the  interest  of  religion  and  the  peace  of  society. 
Those  calumnies  reached  the  ear  of  Cardinal  de  Fleury ;  and 
when  Montesquieu,  sustained  by  the  public  opinion  of  his 
talents,  applied  for  the  place  which  M.  Sacy's  death  had 
left  vacant  in  the  French  Academy,  that  learned  body  was 
made  to  understand,  that  his  majesty  would  never  give 
his  consent  to  the  writer  of  the  Lettres  Persanes;  because, 
though  his  majesty  had  not  read  the  work,  persons  in  whom 
he  placed  confidence  had  shown  him  its  poisonous  tendency. 
Without  feeling  too  much  anxiety  for  literary  distinction, 
Montesquieu  perceived  the  fatal  effect  that  such  an  accusa- 


80  MISCELLANIES 

tion  might  produce  upon  his  dearest  interests.  He  waited 
upon  Fleury,  therefore,  and  signified,  that  although  for  par- 
ticular reasons  he  had  not  acknowledged  the  Lettres  Persanes, 
he  was  very  far  from  wishing  to  disown  that  work,  which 
appeared  to  contain  nothing  disgraceful  to  him,  and  which 
ought  at  least  to  be  read  before  it  was  condemned.  Struck 
by  these  remonstrances,  the  Cardinal  perused  the  work ;  the 
oJDJections  were  removed ;  and  France  avoided  the  disgrace  of 
forcing  this  great  man  to  depart,  as  he  had  threatened,  and 
seek  among  foreigners,  who  invited  him,  the  security  and 
respect  which  his  own  country  seemed  little  inclined  to  grant.^ 
The  24th  of  January  1728,  is  the  date  of  his  admission; 
and  the  inaugural  discourse  pronounced  by  him  on  that  occa- 
sion, appears  to  have  been  distinguished  by  that  originality 
for  which  all  his  writings  are  remarkable. 

A  short  time  before  this  event,  Montesquieu  had  quitted 
his  judicial  charge.  Full  of  the  important  ideas  which  had 
long  occupied  his  attention,  he  determined  to  renounce  every 
engagement  which  might  obstruct  the  perfection  and  publica- 
tion of  them.  To  qualify  himself  for  the  arduous  task  of 
investigating  and  appreciating  the  different  political  or  civil 
constitutions  of  ancient  and  modern  times,  he  judged  it  re- 
quisite to  travel, — that,  so  far  as  possible,  he  might  study 
the  manners  and  character,  the  physical  and  moral  condition 
of  the  European  nations,  by  actual  inspection.  In  pursuance 
of  this  object,  he  set  out  for  Vienna,  along  with  Lord  Walde- 
grave,  the  English  ambassador.  From  this  city,  after  con- 
versing with  the  celebrated  Prince  Eugene,  and  surveying  all 

1  Voltaire  represents  this  matter  in  another  light.  "He  (Montesquieu) 
adopted  a  skilful  artifice  to  regain  the  minister's  favour  ;  in  two  or  three  days 
he  prepared  a  new  edition  of  his  book,  in  which  he  retrenched  or  softened  what- 
ever might  be  condemned  by  a  Cardinal  and  a  minister.  M.  de  Montesquieu 
himself  carried  the  work  to  Fleury,  no  great  reader,  who  examined  a  part  of  it : 
this  air  of  confidence,  supported  by  the  zeal  of  some  persons  in  authority,  quieted 
the  Cardinal,  and  Montesquieu  gained  admission  to  the  Academy."  Ecrivains 
du  Sihle  de  Louis  XIV.  §  Montesquieu.  The  authenticity  of  this  statement, 
however,  appears  to  rest  solely  on  Voltaire's  evidence,  not  altogether  unexcep- 
tionable in  the  present  case.     D'AJembert's  account  is  generally  preferred. 


MONTESQUIEU  81 

that  seemed  worthy  of  notice,  he  passed  into  Hungary,  and 
afterwards  to  Italy,  where  he  met  with  Lord  Chesterfield,  and 
travelled  in  his  company  to  Venice.  Here  he  found  our  noted 
countryman  John  Law,  still  fostering  magnificent  projects, 
though  reduced  to  gain  a  precarious  livelihood  by  often 
risking  his  sole  possession,  a  diamond,  at  the  gaming-table. 
AVhilst  examining  the  singular  institutions  of  this  republic, 
and  canvassing  the  subject  with  eager  frankness  in  places  of 
public  resort,  Montesquieu,  being  informed  by  a  friend  that 
the  Government  took  offence  at  his  procedure,  was  cautioned 
to  withdraw,  if  he  wished  to  avoid  a  scrutiny  which  might  be 
troublesome  and  perhaps  dangerous.  He  instantly  embarked 
for  Fucina,  where  he  arrived  in  safety,  though  not  till,  in  his 
fear  of  being  overtaken  by  some  gondolas  which  appeared  to 
aim  at  reaching  the  ship,  he  had  consigned  his  manuscript 
remarks  to  the  waves. ^  He  next  visited  Rome ;  and  having 
surveyed  Switzerland  and  the  united  provinces,  he  repaired  to 
this  country  in  1730.  Newton  and  Locke  were  dead;  but 
the  philosophical  traveller  found  men  in  England  qualified  to 
estimate  his  talents ;  respected  and  patronised  by  Queen 
Caroline,  he  enjoyed  the  intimacy  of  Pope,  Bolingbroke, 
and  many  othpr  eminent  characters  of  that  period. 

From  England,  Montesquieu  returned  to  La  Brede.  The 
striking  scenes  which  he  had  examined,  and  the  distinguished 
persons  with  whom  he  had  associated,  could  not  but  furnish 
matter  of  deep  and  extensive  reflection  to  a  mind  so  gifted. 
Perhaps  his  well-known  observation,  that  Germany  is  a  coun- 
try fit  to  travel  in,  Italy  to  sojourn,  England  to  think,  and 
France  to  live  in,  exhibits  rather  more  pointedness  than 
truth  ;  but  the  practical  knowledge  which  he  had  acquired 
respecting  men  and  governments,  was  advantageously  applied 
in  his  future  productions.      The  first,  in  order  of  time,  is  an 

^  In  the  Didionnaire  Biographique,  this  affair  is  said  to  have  been  a  mere 
frolic,  invented  and  executed  by  Lord  Chesterfield,  to  convince  Montesquieu  of 
his  error  in  maintaining  that  French  vivacity  was  preferable  to  English  good 
sense.  But  his  Lordship's  logic,  as  -well  as  urbanity,  must  have  left  him,  before 
he  could  make  use  of  such  an  argument.  The  statement  seems  to  be  incredible. 
VOL.   V.  F 


82 


MISCELLANIES 


Essay,  Sur  les  causes  de  la  Gi'andeur  et  de  la  Decadence  des. 
Romains,  completed  during  the  two  years  of  his  seclusion  at 
La  Brede,  and  published  in  1734. 

In  attempting  to  derive  the  grandeur  and  downfall  ofj 
Rome,  from  the  admitted  principles  of  human  nature,  Mon- 
tesquieu gave  a  new  turn  to  such  investigations.  If  some 
elements  of  a  problem  so  complex  have  been  omitted,  ant 
others  rated  too  high,  or  too  low,  the  work  must  be  allowec 
to  exhibit  views  of  political  society,  at  all  times  specious,  ofteiJ 
equally  just  and  profound  :  the  vivid  pictures,  the  acute  anc 
original  thoughts,  with  which  it  everywhere  abounds,  are 
to  be  traced  in  many  succeeding  speculations.  It  deserves 
praise  also  for  the  manly  and  liberal  tone  of  feeling  that 
pervades  it. 

But  the  chief  basis  of  Montesquieu''s  fame  is  the  Esprii 
des  Lois,  published  in  1748.      His  profession  had  led  hii 
to  examine  the  subject  of  law  with  great  minuteness ;  ant 
he  appears,  from  an  early  period,  to  have  aimed  at  discovering 
some  system  which  might  serve  to  connect  the  isolated  facts 
of  a  science,  the  extent  and  confusion  of  which  increased  wit! 
his  knowledge  of  it.     Hitherto,  writers  on  jurisprudence  hac 
limited  their  views   to  the  codes  of  particular  states,  or  tc 
metaphysical  discussions  concerning  the  abstract  rectitude  ol 
those  codes.      But  the  object   of  Montesquieu  was  different] 
and  much  more  comprehensive.      Embracing  the  various,  anc 
apparently  capricious,  systems  of  law,  as  they  regard  commerce 
religion,  or  civil  rights,  in  every  country  which  travellers  od 
historians  make  known  to  us,  he  endeavours  to  elicit  regu4 
larity  from  this  chaos,  and  to  derive  the  intention   of  eacl 
legislator,  or  at  least  the  utility  of  his  law,  from  some  cir^ 
cumstances  in    the    natural    or    political    situation  of  those 
to  whom  it  is  addressed.      The  attempt,  if  not  entirely  suc-j 
cessful,  was  arduous  and  vast :  it  was  likewise  altogether  new] 
The  reading  alone  which  it  presupposes,  would  have  deterrec 
a  man  of  common   ardour ;    especially   if,  like   the   author] 
almost  totally  deprived  of  sight,  he  had  been  compelled  t( 


MONTESQUIEU  83 

employ  the  eyes  of  others.  But  although  the  Esprit  des 
Lois  cannot  be  regarded  as  a  full  and  correct  solution,  it 
is  at  least  a  splendid  theory ;  and  the  labour  of  twenty 
years  devoted  to  produce  it,  the  enthusiasm  required  for 
sustaining  such  an  effort,  were  by  no  means  misapplied. 
The  abundance  of  curious,  and  generally  authentic,  informa- 
tion, with  which  the  work  is  sprinkled,  renders  it  instructive 
even  to  a  superficial  reader ;  while  the  vigorous  and  original 
ideas  to  be  found  in  every  page  of  it,  by  an  attentive  one, 
never  fail  to  delight  and  astonish  where  they  convince,  and  to 
improve  even  where  the  truth  of  them  seems  doubtful.  The 
brilliant  hints,  correct  or  otherwise,  which  the  author  scatters 
round  him  with  a  liberal  hand,  have  excited  or  assisted  the 
speculations  of  others  in  almost  every  department  of  political 
economy ;  and  Montesquieu  is  deservedly  mentioned  as  a 
principal  founder  of  that  important  science.  The  merits 
of  his  work  are  farther  enhanced  by  his  style,  which,  though 
emphatic  and  perspicuous,  rather  than  polished,  abounds  in 
elegant  sarcasm,  in  vivid  and  happy  turns  of  expression,  which 
remind  us  of  his  countryman  Montaigne. 

Among  the  defects  of  the  Esprit  des  Lois,  may  be  numbered 
its  want  of  method,  partly  apparent,  partly  real.  The  transi- 
tions are  universally  abrupt ;  the  brevity  sometimes  de- 
generates into  obscurity,  and  the  smartness  into  affectation. 
Though  the  author's  tone  is  always  decided  and  positive,  his 
statements  and  speculations  are  occasionally  uncertain  or 
erroneous :  in  particular,  the  effects  attributed  to  climate 
(some  of  which  may  have  been  borrowed  from  Bodin's  Methodus 
Historice),  are  greatly  exaggerated.  But  whatever  blemishes 
the  work  may  have,  it  is  entitled  to  the  high  praise  of  steadily 
supporting  the  cause  of  justice  and  humanity,  without  depart- 
ing from  the  moderation  and  reserve  proper  in  combating 
established  prejudices. 

The  reputation  which  its  author  had  already  gained,  pro- 
cured for  the  Esprit  des  Lois  a  sufficient  degree  of  attention ; 
but  the  work,  on  its  first  appearance,  was  very  unfavourably 


84  MISCELLANIES 

received.  Such  as  were  unable  or  unwilling  to  relish  the 
deep  philosophy  of  its  matter,  attached  themselves  to  the 
blemishes  of  its  manner,  and  affected  to  despise  it.  The 
Chancellor  Daguesseau  observed,  that  it  should  have  been 
denominated  De  Vesprit  sur  les  lo'is ;  and  the  pun  obtained  a 
circulation  far  above  its  merit.  Voltaire  also,  being  one  day 
visited  by  the  Abbe  Olivet,  whilst  perusing  the  work,  ex- 
claimed, Venez,  L'Abbe,  venez  lire  Ai-leqidn  Grotius}  The 
general  voice  of  Europe,  indeed,  soon  put  such  criticisms  to 
silence ;  but  it  was  only  to  excite  others  of  a  graver 
and  more  dangerous  nature.  The  Editor  of  the  Gazette 
Ecclesiastique,  long  deeply  engaged  in  the  Jansenist  quarrels 
which  agitated  France  for  many  years,  assailed  the  author  of 
the  Esprit  des  Lois,  in  two  pamphlets,  with  the  charge  of 
deism,  and  the  weightier,  though  contradictory  one,  of  follow- 
ing the  doctrines  of  Spinosa.  The  Defence  which  Montes- 
quieu published,  admirable  for  its  strain  of  polite  irony, 
candour,  and  placid  contempt,  was  entirely  triumphant. 
Indeed,  abilities  of  a  much  lower  order  than  his,  would  have 
sufficed  to  cover  with  ridicule  the  weak  and  purblind  adver- 
sary who  discovered  the  source  of  the  Esprit  des  Lois  in  the 
Bull  Unigenitus,  and  blamed  his  opponent  for  neglecting  to 
examine  the  doctrines  of  grace  and  original  sin.  It  is  to  be 
wished,  that  Montesquieu  had  employed  means  as  legitimate 
to  counteract  Dupin's  criticism.  His  admirers  would  willingly 
forget,  that  when  a  copy  of  this  work,  now  ready  for  circula- 
tion, fell  into  his  hands,  he  carried  it  to  the  royal  mistress, 
Madame  Pompadour,  and  allowed  her  to  inform  Dupin, 
that  as  the  Esprit  des  Lois  enjoyed  her  special  favour,  all 
objections  to  it  must  be  instantly  suppressed. 

Some  excuse  for  this  pai't  of  Montesquieu's  conduct  may 

^  This  anecdote  is  reported  by  M.  Suard,  who  had  it  ijersonally  from  Olivet. 
If  Voltaire  really  used  the  epithet  in  question,  it  must  not  be  considered  as 
expressing  the  deliberate  opinion  which  that  extraordinary  person  had  formed  of 
the  Esprit  des  Lots  ;  to  the  author  of  which,  notwithstanding  their  mutual  dis- 
like, he  pays  a  just  and  elegant  tribute,  in  the  discourse  read  at  his  admission 
into  the  Academy. 


MONTESQUIEU  85 

perhaps  be  found  in  the  growing  infirmity  of  his  health, 
which  rendered  him  daily  less  capable  of  enduring  the  vexa- 
tion of  such  contests.  In  fact,  the  chagrin  already  produced 
by  them,  the  effects  of  study,  and  the  civilities  of  the  great, 
who  courted  his  society  with  an  eagerness  which  he  felt  would 
be  fatal,  had  gradually  undermined  a  constitution  at  no  time 
very  robust.  In  the  beginning  of  February  1755,  he  was 
seized  with  an  inflammation  of  the  lungs,  which  soon  proved 
mortal.  His  last  days  were  soothed  by  the  sympathy  of  all 
ranks  of  men  :  and,  though  loaded  with  the  most  cruel  pains, 
far  from  his  family,  and  insulted  by  the  officious  visits  of 
Father  Routh  (an  Irish  Jesuit,  who  afterwards  forged  a  letter 
in  his  name),  the  peace  and  equality  of  soul  which  had 
marked  the  tenor  of  his  life,  did  not  forsake  him  at  the 
close  of  it.  He  expired  on  the  10th  of  February,  aged  66 
years  and  a  few  days. 

The  private  character  of  Montesquieu  appears  to  have 
been  such  as  the  perusal  of  his  works  might  lead  us  to  anti- 
cipate. Possessing  that  calm  independence  which  secured 
him  respect,  he  possessed  also  that  mildness  and  benignity  of 
character  which  displayed  itself  in  a  cheerful  temper,  and 
obtained  hiin^universal  love.  He  was  distinguished  by  the 
readiness  which  he  always  manifested  to  use  his  influence  with 
the  government,  in  behalf  of  persecuted  men  of  letters  :  and 
strict  frugality  frequently  enabled  him,  without  impairing  the 
property  of  his  family,  to  mitigate  the  wants  of  the  indigent. 

A  multitude  of  anecdotes  attest  the  extent  of  his  colloquial 
powers.  The  number  of  nations  and  celebrated  men  whom 
he  had  seen,  the  vigour  of  his  mind,  its  boundless  fertility  in 
original  and  lively  ideas,  rendered  his  conversation  at  once 
instructive  and  fascinating.  It  was  curt,  like  his  style, 
without  bitterness  or  satire,  yet  full  of  attic  salt,  to  which 
his  Gascon  accent  perhaps  added  new  charms.  The  frequent 
absence  of  mind,  for  which  he  v/as  remarkable,  never  occurred 
in  a  serious  or  interesting  discussion  :  it  was  not  affected  ; 
and  he  constantly  awoke  from  it  by  some  brilliant  sally  fitted 


86  MISCELLANIES 

to  revive  the  conversation.  Though  living  with  the  great, 
and  formed  to  delight  the  most  polished  circles,  he  could  yet 
derive  information  and  pleasure  from  the  simplest  objects, 
and  felt  at  all  times  happy  to  exchange  the  splendid  bustle 
of  Paris  for  books  and  repose  at  La  Brede.  It  must  have 
been  a  striking  spectacle  to  see  this  teacher  of  philosophers, 
seated  beneath  an  oak  in  his  pleasure  grounds,  and  in  order 
to  relax  his  mind  from  the  studies  which  he  never  carried  to 
excess,  conversing  gaily  with  a  crowd  of  peasants  in  their  own 
patois,  adopting  their  views,  investigating  their  genius, 
supremely  happy  if  his  influence  could  terminate  their  dis- 
putes, or  solace  their  troubles.  His  touching  interview  with 
the  Marseillese  artisan  ;  his  delight  on  learning  that  this 
young  man  devoted  every  evening  to  ply  as  a  boatman  for 
the  ransom  of  a  father  captive  in  Barbary ;  his  generous  and 
delicate  reward  of  such  affectionateness  have  been  made  the 
subject  of  a  drama,  entitled,  Le  Bieiifait  Anonyme. 

Montesquieu,  in  1715,  had  married  Demoiselle  Jeanne  de 
Lartigne,  whose  father,  Pierre  de  Lartigne,  was  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  in  the  regiment  of  Maulevrier.  She  bore  him  two 
daughters  and  a  son.  The  latter,  Jean  Baptiste  de  Secondat, 
less  noted  for  his  respectable  talents  than  for  the  abstrac- 
tion of  his  manners,  wrote  several  tracts  on  commerce  and 
natural  history.  He  frequently  resided  in  London,  where 
some  of  his  works  were  published.  He  died  at  Bordeaux  in 
1796,  aged  80  years. 

Besides  the  works  above  enumerated,  Montesquieu  is 
author  of  the  Temple  de  Gjiide,  which  quickly  followed  his 
Letti-es  Persanes.  The  Pensees  Diverses,  collected  from  his 
manuscripts,  was  published  in  1758;  the  Lettres  Familieres 
in  1767.  None  of  these  productions  are  destitute  of  genius, 
but  they  cannot  add  much  to  the  reputation  of  a  man  other- 
wise so  distinguished.  His  works  have  all  been  translated 
into  English.  The  best  edition  in  the  original  language  is 
thought  to  be  that  of  Paris,  1796,  5  vols.  4to,  or  that  of 
Bale,  1799,  8  vols.  8vo. 


NECKER^ 

Jacques  Baron  de  Necker,  a  distinguished  financier  and 
statesman,  was  born  at  Geneva,  in  the  year  1732.  His 
father,  Charles  Frederic,  was  professor  of  civil  law  there, 
and  became  known  to  his  contemporaries  as  the  author  of 
some  treatises  relating  to  jurisprudence.  Intending  to  bring 
up  his  son  for  the  mercantile  life,  he  gave  him  a  suitable 
education,  which  was  hardly  completed,  when  the  situation 
of  clerk  in  a  banking  house  at  Paris  having  offered  itself, 
Jacques  was  sent  away  to  occupy  it,  at  the  age  of  fifteen. 
The  allurements  of  a  capital  could  not  divert  the  young 
man  from  steadily  discharging  his  humble  duties,  and  sedu- 
lously consecrating  all  his  unoccupied  time  to  increase  his 
general  knowledge,  and  remedy  the  defects  of  his  scanty  edu- 
cation, ^^hellusson,  his  master,  had  observed  this  regular 
conduct ;  but  it  did  not  strike  him  that,  under  an  exterior 
somewhat  shy  and  repulsive,  Necker  concealed  any  talents 
beyond  the  ordinary,  though  valuable,  qualities  of  punctuality 
and  discretion.  An  accident  first  revealed  the  existence  of 
higher  powers,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  Necker's  future 
greatness.  It  happened,  one  day,  that  the  head  clerk,  who 
had  to  transact  some  important  business  at  the  Exchequer, 
was  prevented  from  attending  to  it  at  the  appointed  hour, 
and  the  business  in  consequence  devolved  upon  Necker ;  who, 
guiding  himself  by  the  aspect  of  the  case,  managed  the  affair 
in  a  way  contrary  to  his  master's  directions,  but  so  as  to  secure 
for  him  a  profit  of  500,000  livres,  beyond  what  could  have 
been  acquired  otherwise.      This  occurrence  naturally  attracted 

^  Edinbtirgh  Encyclopedia,  vol.  xv. 

87 


88  MISCELLANIES 

notice ;  and  being  followed  on  the  part  of  Necker  by  the 
same  prudent  carefulness  which  had  marked  his  previous 
conduct,  it  introduced  him  to  the  confidence,  to  the  chiei 
employment,  and  finally,  to  the  partnership,  of  his  principal. 

Necker  was  now  on  the  high  road  to  wealth.  Thellusson 
having  died  shortly  after,  he  established  a  bank  of  his  own, 
in  which  a  brother  and  some  other  merchants  had  shares  :  he 
speculated  with  the  East  India  Company,  with  the  English 
funds ;  was  cautious,  enterprising,  successful ;  and  in  the 
course  of  fifteen  years  had  amassed  a  princely  fortune.  But 
the  possession  of  a  capital  beyond  that  of  the  most  opulent 
house  in  France  (it  amounted  to  six  millions  of  livres),  could 
not  render  the  career  he  was  prosecuting  so  successfully,  and 
the  kind  of  distinction  which  he  might  acquire  from  it, 
interesting  enough  to  engage  all  his  ardour  and  limit  all  his 
views.  He  aspired  to  reputation  of  a  more  exalted  species ; 
and  his  previous  acquisitions  in  literature  and  science  enabled 
him  to  take  an  honourable  mode  of  obtaining  it.  Political 
economy,  begun  under  the  auspices  of  Colbert,  systematised 
and  new-modelled  by  Dr.  Quesnay,  expounded  by  Turgot  and 
a  multitude  of  inferior  men,  was  at  that  time  eagerly  studied 
in  France ;  and  Necker's  profession  cooperated  with  the  bent 
of  his  genius  to  inspire  him  with  a  taste  for  the  fashionable 
subject.  He  had  examined  it  maturely,  not  without  dissenting 
in  many  essential  points  from  the  sect  then  prevalent,  and 
since  named  Economists',  and  in  1769,  when  the  propriety 
of  the  East  India  Company's  monopoly  was  keenly  disputed, 
he  published  a  book  on  the  question,  wherein  he  endea- 
voured to  defend  that  establishment  against  the  objections  of 
Lacratelle  and  Morel  let.  It  is  a  strong  proof  of  the  author's 
ingenuity,  that  his  work  was  popular,  though  it  maintained 
so  unpopular  a  side  of  the  argument,  and  respected  among 
men  of  letters,  though  it  went  counter  to  the  fundamental 
principle  of  Dr.  Quesnay's  system,  which  they  almost  universally 
patronised.  The  eloge  of  Colbert  (read  at  the  Academie 
Fran^aise  in  1773),  and   a  tract  on  the  Corn  Trade  which 


NECKER  89 

followed  it,  tended  greatly  to  establish  Ncckcr''s  reputation  as 
a  political  economist :  and  the  consideration  resulting  from 
his  immense  fortune,  together  with  the  esteem  he  enjoyed 
in  the  literary  world,  paved  the  way  for  his  advancement  to 
a  station  in  the  Government,  where  such  talents  might  be 
immediately  applied  to  practice,  and  were  now  more  than  ever 
imperiously  called  for. 

It  has  been  said  that  Necker  did  not  entirely  rest  his 
claims  to  office  on  the  strength  of  public  opinion  which 
backed  him,  but  employed  the  intervention  of  the  Marquis 
de  Pezay,  by  means  of  whom  he  maintained  a  concealed  cor- 
respondence with  the  young  king,  and  transmitted  him 
memorials  insisting  on  the  resources  of  the  state,  and  paint- 
ing, in  bright  colours,  the  immense  improvement  which  might 
result  from  properly  using  them.  Prompted  by  those  glow- 
ing representations,  or  impelled  by  the  national  voice,  Louis 
at  last  consented  to  admit  Necker  into  his  finance  department. 
It  was  at  first  attempted  to  make  the  new  Comptroller- 
general  divide  his  powers  and  his  duties  with  the  old  ;  but 
eight  months  of  experiment  showed  clearly  enough  that  the 
two  could  not  act  in  concert  ;  and  Taboreau  being  dismissed, 
Necker  obtained  the  sole  management  of  his  post,  on  the 
10th  July  1777.  His  conduct  in  it  gave  general  satisfac- 
tion. He  retrenched  and  borrowed  ;  and  by  many  judicious 
arrangements,  materially  bettered  the  condition  of  the  trea- 
sury. The  middle  ranks,  who  felt  the  practical  benefit  of 
this  procedure,  approved  his  character,  and  extolled  the  dis- 
interestedness (which  his  enemies  called  the  ostentation)  of 
serving  without  a  salary.  Excepting  Turgot,  whom  his 
doctrines  on  the  corn-trade  had  alienated,  the  literary  class 
regarded  him  with  favour,  and  exulted  at  the  triumph  of 
liberal  opinions  in  this  first  instance,  since  the  Edict  of 
Nantes  was  repealed,  of  a  Protestant  being  advanced  to  any 
important  situation  in  the  Government.  With  the  court 
party  he  was  less  successful ;  his  measures  thwarted  their 
prejudices  and  their  interests :  but  the  rectitude  and  calm- 


90  MISCELLANIES 

ness  of  his  demeanour,  and  the  powerful  support  he  received 
from  without,  were  sufficient  to  impress  them  with  respect, 
and  to  frustrate  their  cabals. 

Necker  was  now  in  the  place  he  desired  :  his  administra- 
tion of  it  was  applauded ;  and  the  five  subsequent  years, 
though  always  full  of  toil,  and  seldom  free  from  anxiety, 
were  perhaps  among  the  happiest  of  his  life.  He  was  for- 
tunate in  the  possession  of  an  amiable  and  highly-gifted 
wife,^  whose  attentive  management  relieved  him  from  do- 
mestic cares,  while  her  affection  and  accomplishments  made 
his  home  at  all  times  a  scene  of  comfort  and  peace.  He 
was  employed  in  labouring  for  the  welfare  of  a  great  nation. 
Buffon,  Marmontel,  Thomas,  and  all  the  most  celebrated  men 
of  the  age,  embellished  his  leisure ;  and  he  might  flatter 
himself  as  being  the  architect  of  his  o\vn  fortune,  and  think, 
with  more  than  usual  plausibility,  that  his  own  powers  and 
his  own  merit  had  earned  him  all  this  exaltation. 

So  splendid  a  condition  was  not,  however,  destined  to  be 

'  This  lady  is  in  some  sort  connected  with  the  literary  history  of  England. 
She  was  the  Susanne  Curchod,  the  object  of  Gibbon's  early  passion,  the  rise  as 
well  as  the  "  decline  and  fall,"  of  which  is  told  with  so  much  stateliness  in  his 
autobiographical  fragment.  Her  father,  M.  de  Naas,  a  Protestant  clergyman  of 
the  Pays  de  Vaud,  had  improved  her  promising  faculties  by  every  species  of 
culture.  She  was  intimately  versed  in  literature,  ancient  and  modern,  and 
united  a  keen  relish  and  a  great  capacity  for  such  pursuits,  with  all  the  grace 
and  softness  which  adorn  the  female  character.  M.  de  Naas  died  prematurely, 
and  left  his  family  in  straitened  circumstances  ;  which  induced  Susanne  and  her 
mother  to  settle  in  Geneva,  and  undertake  the  establishment  and  superintendence 
of  a  boarding-school.  Necker  found  her  in  this  capacity,  and  had  the  sense  to 
appreciate  her  worth :  a  Madame  de  Verminoux,  having  a  son  to  instruct  in 
Latin,  took  the  young  lady  with  her  to  Paris  for  that  purpose  :  the  acquaintance 
begun  at  Geneva,  was  here  renewed,  and  in  due  time  ripened  into  marriage. 
Among  the  refined  and  intelligent  circles  of  Paris,  Madame  Necker  maintained 
her  early  distinction.  At  one  time  conversing  with  philosophers,  at  another 
watching  over  the  necessities  of  the  poor,  she  was  eminent  throughout  all  her 
life  for  the  extent  and  force  of  her  intellectual  powers,  no  less  than  for  the 
ardour  and  benevolence  of  her  heart.  To  Gibbon,  notwithstanding  his  highly 
prudent  desertion  of  her,  and  the  wide  difference  in  their  religious  opinions,  she 
displayed  not  the  slightest  resentment ;  but  treated  him  always  as  a  brother, 
and  often  corresponded  with  him  in  the  kindest  and  frankest  manner.  She 
wrote  several  works  of  considerable  repute,  which  will  be  enumerated  afterwards. 


NECKER  91 

permanent.  Necker,  it  is  true,  continued  to  enjoy  the  un- 
abated or  even  increasing  confidence  of  the  public ;  the 
Compte  Rendu  (1781),  in  which  he  developed  his  plans  of 
finance,  was  circulated  to  an  unparallelled  extent ;  and  among 
the  200,000  copies  of  it  that  were  sold,  few  were  perused 
with  other  feelings  than  approbation.  But  his  enemies  at 
court  were  still  active.  The  expedients  he  recommended  for 
alleviating  the  national  burdens,  or  allaying  the  popular 
discontent,  were  viewed  with  suspicion  and  repugnance ;  and 
a  claim  which  he  put  forward,  soon  after  the  publication  of 
his  Compte  Rendu,  to  a  right  of  being  received  into  the 
Council,  and  which  he  supported  with  more  spirit  than 
prudence,  was  eagerly  seized  on ;  and  being  dextrously 
improved,  it  led  to  discussions  which  forced  him  to  give  up 
his  appointment.  He  resigned  on  the  28th  of  May,  and 
withdrew  to  Copet,  a  chateau  which  he  had  purchased  lately 
on  the  banks  of  the  lake  of  Geneva. 

It  was  natural  to  feel  keenly  the  immense  change  in  his 
circumstances ;  and  to  a  mind  so  active  and  aspiring,  par- 
ticularly when  it  had  already  drunk  so  deeply  of  the  sweets 
of  power,  this  change  must  have  been  more  than  usually 
galling.  But  Necker  had  not  abandoned  the  hope  of  resum- 
ing his  station ;  and  the  warm  reception  bestowed  on  his 
treatise  De  F Administration  des  Finances,  published  during 
his  retirement,  was  well  calculated  to  strengthen  such  antici- 
pations. Courtiers  might  stigmatise  him  as  a  demagogue, 
whom  his  position  in  society  rendered  a  natural  enemy  of  the 
privileged  orders,  and  whose  ideas  of  a  representative  govern- 
ment, like  that  of  England,  were  fraught  with  danger ;  but 
the  ineptness  and  prodigality  of  Calonne,  his  successor ;  the 
increasing  agitation  of  the  kingdom  ;  the  increasing  embar- 
rassments of  the  ministry,  all  pointed  to  a  thorough  altera- 
tion of  system,  and  to  Necker  as  the  man  for  effecting  it. 
Animated  by  those  prospects,  he  returned  to  Paris  in  1787  ; 
and  as  Calonne  had  accused  him,  before  the  Notables  (then 
assembled  to  provide  against  the  growing  dangers),  of  mal- 


9S  MISCELLANIES 

versation  in  his  office,  and  unfairness  in  his  accounts,  Necker 
instantly  prepared  a  memorial  to  rebut  this  charge,  of  which 
it  was  easy  to  demonstrate  the  falsehood.  He  submitted  his 
defence  to  the  king,  but  refused,  at  his  request,  to  suppress 
it ;  and  was  in  consequence  ordered  to  retire  to  St.  Ouen, 
a  country  seat  many  miles  distant  from  the  capital.  This 
banishment,  however,  was  not  of  long  continuance.  Calonne's 
dismissal,  which  the  publication  in  question  contributed  to 
hasten,  and  Bienne's  appointment  to  succeed  him,  were  found 
inadequate  to  the  emergency  :  the  financial  difficulties,  the 
popular  discontent,  went  on  increasing ;  and  Necker  was  re- 
called, in  the  month  of  August  1788. 

Such  a  reinstatement  might  well  be  gratifying  to  his  vanity  ; 
but  the  task  he  had  to  perforin  was  appalling.  On  one  hand 
were  a  dilapidated  treasury,  and  a  ruinous,  though  insufficient 
taxation  :  on  the  other  was  an  impoverished  and  tumultuous 
people,  from  whose  scanty  resources  he  behoved  to  make  good 
this  deficiency,  while  he  felt  that  in  their  favour  consisted  his 
only  security  against  the  intrigues  of  a  Court  which  viewed 
himself  and  his  principles  at  once  with  fear  and  aversion. 
His  first  step,  after  devising  means  to  relieve  the  pressing 
scarcity  of  corn,  was  to  insist  on  the  removal  of  Maurepas, 
the  prime  minister;  and  having  now  the  chief  direction  of 
affairs  in  his  own  hand,  he  urged  the  King  to  fulfil  his  former 
promise  of  assembling  the  States-General, — as  the  only  means 
of  calming  the  popular  ferment,  and  effectually  remedying 
the  grievances  of  the  nation.  The  States-General  were  con- 
voked accordingly;  they  met  on  the  5th  of  May  1789;  but 
their  meeting  produced  none  of  the  anticipated  effects.  To 
Necker,  far  from  realising  his  favourite  project  of  a  limited 
monarchy,  it  afforded  nothing  but  a  series  of  disappointments 
and  vexations, — placing  him  in  a  situation  where  it  was  im- 
possible to  reconcile  the  wishes  of  his  master  (or  his  master's 
advisers)  with  the  wishes  of  the  people,  and  thus  forcing  him 
to  vacillate  between  cooperation  and  resistance  with  reo-ard 
to  both.      In  his  dread  of  the  noblesse  he  had  settled,  that 


NECKER  93 

the  deputies  of  the  tiers  Hat  should  be  equal  in  number  to 
the  two  remaining  orders  united  ;  an  arrangement  which  soon 
brought  about  the  junction  of  all  into  one  National  Assembly, 
where  the  democratic  influence  decidedly  prevailed  :  and  the 
plan  of  a  constitution,  by  which  he  still  hoped  to  quiet  the 
rising  demands  of  that  party,  was  so  altered  and  curtailed  by 
the  King,  that  Necker  refused  to  be  present  when  it  was  read. 
Vehement  contentions  ensued,  in  which  the  voice  of  modera- 
tion could  no  more  be  heard  ;  violent,  yet  feeble  efforts  on 
the  part  of  Government,  but  served  to  irritate  the  deputies  : 
and  as  Necker  refused,  notwithstanding  their  intemperance, 
to  concur  in  the  attempt  to  overawe  them  by  a  military  force, 
and  was  besides  regarded  as  a  lukewarm  friend,  if  not  a  con- 
cealed enemy  to  the  royal  interest,  he  received  a  secret  order, 
on  the  afternoon  of  the  11th  July  1789,  to  leave  Versailles 
privately  within  twenty-four  hours.  He  complied  without 
hesitation,  and  instantly  set  out  for  Brussels.  But  his 
departure  produced  a  result  very  different  from  the  proposed 
one.  Coupled  with  the  gradual  approach  of  a  great  army 
to  Paris  and  Versailles,  it  inspired  the  populace  with  vague 
terrors,  and  enabled  designing  men  to  exasperate  them  into 
frenzy.  On  the  memorable  14th  of  July,  the  mob  rose  and 
levelled  thel^astile  to  the  ground,  massacred  every  obnoxious 
person,  and  delivered  themselves  up  to  all  manner  of  excesses. 
To  appease  them,  Louis  was  glad  to  despatch  a  courier  in 
pursuit  of  Necker,  requesting  his  immediate  return.  He 
returned  accordingly  ;  and  his  journey  from  Basle,  where  the 
messenger  found  him,  to  the  capital,  resembled  a  long  tri- 
umphal procession. 

It  was  a  proud  thing  for  Necker  to  be  received  at  the 
gates  of  Paris  by  the  acclamations  of  assembled  thousands  ; 
to  have  his  bust  paraded  through  the  streets ;  and  his  house 
emblazoned  by  the  inscription,  Au  Ministre  adore  :  but  this 
brilliancy  was  not  more  lasting  than  the  proverbially  unstable 
nature  of  popular  applause  might  have  led  him  to  expect. 
With  the  most  earnest   desire  to  act  uprightly  and  honour- 


94  MISCELLANIES 

ablj,  he  soon  found  it  impossible  to  unite  an  attention  to  the 
real  interests  of  state,  with  the  favour  of  an  excited  and 
ignorant  mob, — perpetually  misled  by  wicked  agitators, — 
yet  drunk  with  its  new-found  power,  and  indulging  the  most 
chimerical  expectations  from  the  actual  posture  of  affairs. 
Necker's  mature  judgment  rendered  him  hostile  to  the  ex- 
travagant and  precipitate  innovations  which  were  sanctioned 
by  the  Assembly,  and  tumultuously  hailed  by  the  populace, 
who  now  overruled  and  intimidated  all  parties.  With  equal 
ingenuity,  keener  ardour,  and  superior  eloquence,  Mirabeau 
confronted  him  like  his  evil  genius ;  and,  being  totally  with- 
out scruple  in  the  employment  of  any  expedient,  honest  or 
the  contrary,  was  but  too  successful  in  overturning  all  reason- 
able proposals,  and  conducting  the  people  to  that  state  of 
anarchy,  out  of  which  his  own  ambition  was  to  be  gratified 
and  his  own  exertions  rewarded.  When,  to  meet  the  im- 
mediate necessities  of  Government,  Necker  submitted  the 
project  of  a  loan,  and  offered  to  contribute  a  large  sum  from 
his  private  fortune  towards  it,  Mirabeau  insidiously  seconded 
this  measure,  and  made  it  a  handle  for  the  production  of 
various  accounts,  before  a  select  committee, — who  being  at 
once  devoted  to  his  views,  and  ignorant  of  finance,  brought 
out  a  report  equally  injurious  and  irritating  to  Necker,  and 
thereby  completely  overset  his  declining  popularity.  His 
previous  declaration  in  favour  of  the  royal  veto,  though 
strictly  conformable  to  those  opinions  which  he  had  formed, 
and  often  expressed  long  before,  had  prepared  the  misguided 
people  for  listening  to  any  accusation  against  him ;  and  his 
opposition  to  the  destruction  of  the  noblesse,  attributed  to 
anxiety  for  his  own  acquired  baronship,  exasperated  this  dis- 
trust into  open  detestation.  He  was  branded  as  an  aristocrat ; 
his  personal  safety  was  endangered ;  and  he  felt  that  it  had 
now  become  high  time  to  retire.  Leaving  his  share  of  the 
loan  (above  80,000Z.  sterling),  together  Avith  a  large  portion 
of  his  property  behind  him,  he  accordingly  quitted  Paris,  and 
returned   to    Switzerland,  travelling    by    the    same   road,   on 


NECKER  95 

which,  a  few  months  before,  his  presence  had  excited  such 
enthusiastic  bursts  of  joy.  The  feeling  was  again  as  enthu- 
siastic, but  its  character  was  altered.  Necker  secured  him- 
self with  difficulty  from  the  execrations  of  those  who  had  so 
lately  blessed  him.  At  Arvis-sur-Aube,  he  was  arrested  in 
his  journey,  and  a  decree  of  the  National  Assembly  became 
necessary  for  allowing  him  to  proceed.  At  Vesoul,  notwith- 
standing of  this,  his  carriage  was  stopped  anew  :  a  short  time 
ago,  they  had  unyoked  this  same  carriage,  and  drawn  it  in 
triumph  through  their  streets ;  they  now  loaded  with  curses 
the  object  of  their  former  idolatry,  and  threatened,  or  even 
attempted,  to  murder  his  attendants. 

Arrived  at  Copet,  far  from  the  turmoils,  the  hazard,  and 
the  splendour  of  his  late  situation,  Necker  had  leisure  to 
reflect  on  the  great  scenes  he  had  witnessed  or  shared  in,  to 
view  the  obscurity  into  which  he  was  fallen,  and  to  collect 
the  scattered  elements  which  yet  remained  to  him  of  happi- 
ness or  contentment.  It  is  rare  that  a  degraded  minister 
enjoys  much  peace  of  mind,  or  can  extract  pleasure  from  those 
sources  on  which  human  life  must  generally  depend  for  its 
comforts.  Whoever  has  participated  largely  in  the  spirit- 
stirring  strife  of  power,  who  has  struggled  with  its  difficulties, 
and  triumphed  in  subduing  them,  will  find  a  void  in  his  heart 
when  such  excitements  are  withdrawn,  a  languor  and  dis- 
quietude, which  objects  less  vast  and  imposing  are  altogether 
incompetent  to  remove.  In  Necker's  political  history  every 
thing  was  grand  and  surprising ;  the  game  he  had  played  was 
deep  as  well  as  fluctuating ;  and  when  he  lost  it,  his  feelings 
did  not  belie  the  common  maxim.  "  I  could  have  wished," 
says  Gibbon,  after  a  visit  at  Copet  about  this  period,  "  to 
have  exhibited  him  as  a  warning  to  any  aspiring  youth  pos- 
sessed with  the  demon  of  Ambition.  With  all  the  means 
of  private  happiness  in  his  power,  he  is  the  most  miserable 
of  human  beings ;  the  past,  the  present,  and  the  future,  are 
equally  odious  to  him.  When  I  suggested  some  domestic 
amusements,  he  answered  with  a  deep  tone  of  despair,  '  In 


96  MISCELLANIES 

the  state  in  which  I  am,  I  can  feel  nothing  but  the  blast  that 
has  overthrown  me.'" 

Time,  however,  which  extends  its  quiet  influence  to  every 
sensation  of  sorrow  or  of  joy,  did  not  fail  to  mitigate  this 
despondency.  Necker,  indeed,  still  felt  that  he  was  banished 
from  the  country  where  his  highest  hopes  had  been  centred  ; 
but  the  esteem  of  impartial  men  over  all  Europe,  the  secret 
approval  of  conscience,  were  not  denied  him  :  three-fourths 
of  his  fortune  might  be  engulphed  in  the  confusions  of  France  ; 
but  enough  still  remained  for  the  gratification  of  his  charitable 
dispositions,  and  the  support  of  his  family  in  dignity  and 
independence.  By  degrees  his  ambition  directed  itself  to  the 
more  peaceful  arena  of  literature  and  political  philosophy ; 
he  composed  various  treatises  in  support  of  the  doctrines 
formerly  professed  by  him,  and  the  line  of  conduct  by  which 
he  had  endeavoured  to  put  them  in  eifect.  Among  his 
enemies,  too,  as  faction  succeeded  faction,  the  misrepresenta- 
tions which  had  tarnished  his  name  began  to  clear  away ;  the 
French  Government,  which  had  at  first  proscribed  him  as  an 
emigrant,  erased  this  mark  of  reprobation,  and  charged  their 
army,  when  it  entered  Switzerland,  to  treat  him  with  every 
kind  of  respect.  His  pursuits  were  soothing,  and  shared  by 
those  whom  he  loved ;  and  though  his  domestic  comfort  was 
rudely  assailed  by  the  death  of  Madame  Necker  in  1794, 
there  still  remained  an  illustrious  daughter,  Avho  viewed  him 
with  a  reverence  and  affection  truly  filial,  and  whose  brilliant 
powers  it  was  a  delightful  task  to  unfold.  His  care,  in  this 
particular,  was  amply  recompensed :  Madame  de  Stael,  even 
before  her  father's  death,  had  gained  a  literary  reputation 
above  that  of  any  female  in  Europe ;  and  the  writings  which 
subsequently  marked  her  splendid  though  too  short  career, 
will  preserve  her  name  to  a  distant  posterity.  Her  own 
affectionate  and  impassioned  character,  her  lonely  situation, 
the  unwearied  and  condescending  kindness  of  her  father, 
made  it  a  pleasure  and  a  duty  for  Madame  de  Stael  to 
watch  over  his  declining  age   with  the  tenderest  solicitude. 


NECKER  97 

She  seldom  quitted  him,  and  had  reluctantly  obeyed  his 
injunction  to  recreate  and  instruct  herself  by  a  visit  to 
Germany,  when  Necker  was  seized  with  his  last  illness.  He 
died,  in  her  absence,  on  the  9th  of  April  1804. 

With  a  fate  common  to  all  who  have  lived  in  times  of 
political  agitation,  and  thus  blended  the  memory  of  their 
actions  with  that  of  events,  which  give  force  and  expression 
to  every  fierce  quality  of  human  nature,  Necker  has  been 
painted  in  the  brightest  and  the  blackest  of  colours,  as  the 
varying  prejudices  of  historians  have  chanced  to  sway  them. 
By  one  party  he  is  reproached  as  the  author  of  the  French 
Revolution,  and  charged  with  all  its  horrors  ;  by  another  he 
is  eulogised  as  the  virtuous  and  enlightened  statesman,  by 
whose  guidance,  too  little  appreciated  and  lost  in  factious 
clamour  at  the  time,  all  the  advantages  of  a  reform  might 
have  been  secured  without  any  of  its  evils.  His  character, 
we  may  safely  assert,  has  been  greatly  exaggerated  in  both 
cases.  The  French  Revolution  might  be  accelerated  or 
retarded,  it  could  not  be  prevented  or  produced,  by  any  such 
circumstance  as  the  conduct  of  Necker.  And  if  his  measures 
gave  form  and  occasion  to  the  troubles  which  followed :  who 
can  yet  say  under  what  different  management  the  issue  would 
have  been  milder  or  more  salutary  ?  By  the  candid  of  foreign 
nations,  Necker  is  now  considered  as  a  minister  possessed  of 
talents  entitling  him  to  an  elevated  place  among  politicians, 
and  of  integrity  deserving  perhaps  to  set  him  at  their  head. 
His  talents,  doubtless,  were  exercised,  where  their  exercise  was 
too  powerless  to  be  of  any  benefit :  but  the  high  moral 
rectitude  of  his  deportment,  preceded,  followed,  surrounded, 
as  it  is,  by  perfidy  and  cruelty  and  baseness,  forms  a  bright 
spot,  on  which  the  mind  gladly  reposes  amid  the  general 
gloom. 

It  was  unfortunate  for  Necker,  but  the  natural  consequence 
of  his  situation,  that  his  political  views,  being  formed  in  the 
closet,  had  too  much  of  a  speculative  cast,  too  little  fulness 
of  detail,  for  comprehending   all   the  multifarious  elements 

VOL.  v.  a 


98  MISCELLANIES 

which  influenced  the  result,  when  tried  in  practice.  He  had 
visited  England,  and  admired  our  constitution ;  but  he  knew 
only  its  outlines,  and  applied  them  too  hastily  to  France, 
where  so  much  was  at  variance  with  their  application.  In 
another  point  of  view,  it  was  also  unfortunate  that  his 
ambition  was  at  once  so  high,  and  so  urgent  for  immediate 
gratification.  Yet  it  ought  to  be  remembered,  that  if  this 
love  of  popularity,  too  undistinguishing  and  too  eager  for 
perpetual  nourishment,  betrayed  a  want  of  the  firmness 
essential  to  a  great  man,  it  had  a  close  kindred  with  many  of 
the  qualities  which  constitute  an  amiable  one.  It  appeared 
in  the  shape  of  vanity  at  times,  but  of  vanity  nearly  allied  to 
those  benevolent  affections  which  rendered  Necker's  conduct 
no  less  simple  and  exemplary  on  the  theatre  of  politics,  than 
it  was  endearing  in  his  domestic  circle.  In  the  latter 
respect,  whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  former,  few  indeed 
can  lay  claim  to  an  equal  tribute  of  praise.  By  his  family 
he  was  viewed  with  a  sentiment  approaching  to  idolatry,  and 
his  daughter  never  consoled  herself  for  his  loss. 

As  an  author,  Necker  displays  much  irregular  force  of 
imagination,  united  with  considerable  perspicuity  and  com- 
pass of  thought ;  though  his  speculations  are  deformed  by 
an  undue  attachment  to  certain  leading  ideas,  which,  harmon- 
ising with  his  habits  of  mind,  had  acquired  an  excessive 
preponderance  in  the  course  of  his  long  and  uncontroverted 
meditations.  He  possessed  extensive  knowledge,  and  his 
works  bespeak  a  philosophical  spirit ;  but  their  great  and 
characteristic  excellence  proceeds  from  that  glow  of  fresh 
and  youthful  admiration  for  everything  that  is  amiable  or 
august  in  the  character  of  man,  which,  in  Necker's  heart, 
survived  all  the  blighting  vicissitudes  it  had  passed  through, 
combining,  in  a  singular  union,  the  fervour  of  the  stripling 
with  the  experience  of  the  sage. 

We  subjoin  a  list  of  his  writings,  and  those  of  Madame 
Necker.  Reponse  a  Morellet  (on  the  India  Trade,  1769). 
Eloge    de    Colbert^    1773.      Sur    le    Commerce    des    Grains. 


NECKER  99 

Memoir es  sur  les  Administrations  Pi'ovinciales,  1781.  Re- 
ponse  (to  Calone's  accusation  before  the  Notables,  1787). 
Le  Compte  Rendu.  Nouveaux  Eclair cissemens  sur  le  Compte 
Rendu,  1788.  De  V Importance  des  Opinions  Religieuses, 
1788.       Observations    sur   VAvant-Propos   du   Livre   Rouge^ 

1790.  Siir   r Administration  de   M.    Necker,  par   lui-meme, 

1791.  De  la  Revolution  Fran^aise,  1797. — By  Madame 
Necker.  Des  Inlmmations  Precipitees,  1790.  Memoire  sur 
TEtablissement  des  Hospices,  1794.  Reflexions  sur  le  Divorce, 
1795.  And  eight  volumes  of  Melanges,  selected  from  her 
various  unpublished  writings. 


THE     NETHERLANDS^ 

The  Netherlands,  or  Low  Countries,  so  called  from  their 
position  with  regard  to  several  great  rivers,  and  the  general 
aspect  of  their  surface,  consist  of  seventeen  provinces, 
which,  together  with  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Luxemburg, 
now  form  a  kingdom  on  the  western  coast  of  Europe.  For 
nearly  the  last  two  centuries,  the  name  Netherlands  has  been 
somewhat  vaguely  applied.  Occasionally  it  has  been  re- 
stricted to  the  ten  southern  provinces,  which  it  is  usual  at 
present  to  distinguish  by  the  title  Belgic  ;  the  seven  northern 
provinces  having  at  the  same  time  been  known  by  the  appel- 
lation of  Dutch  Republic^  or  United  Provinces.  Under  the 
article  "Holland""  will  be  found  an  account  of  whatever  is  most 
remarkable  in  the  present  condition  of  the  Dutch  provinces : 
it  now  remains  to  give  a  similar  account  of  those  deno- 
minated Belgic, — with  a  slight  sketch  of  the  history  of  both 
divisions. 

Belgium,  extending  from  49°  30'  to  51°  40'  of  north 
latitude,  and  from  2°  30'  to  6°  58'  of  east  longitude,  is 
bounded  on  the  south  and  west  by  France ;  on  the  north  by 
Holland  and  the  German  Ocean  ;  on  the  east  by  the  Prussian 
duchy  of  the  Lower  Rhine.  From  Ostend  on  the  north- 
west, to  the  extreme  point  of  Luxemburg  on  the  south-east, 
is  about  180  British  miles,  the  greatest  length  of  Belgium; 
and  a  line  drawn  at  right  angles  to  this,  through  South 
Brabant  and  Hainaut,  would  measure  120  miles,  which  may 
be  regarded  as  the  medium  breadth ;  the  superficial  extent 
being  estimated  at  13,400  square  miles,  and  the  inhabitants 

^  Edinburgh  Encyclopcedia,  vol.  xv. 
100 


THE    NETHERLANDS  101 

at   5,226,000   souls, — on    an   average,   240    to   the    square 
mile. 

The  general  appearance  presented  by  this  tract  of  country 
is  sufficiently  unvaried.  Except  some  diminutive  hills  in  the 
counties  of  Namur  and  Luxemburg,  nothing  occurs  to  break 
the  level  uniformity  of  its  surface  :  no  lake  of  any  extent, 
no  river  of  any  majesty,  no  scene  of  nature  to  arrest  the 
traveller  of  taste.  Some  forests  in  Flanders,  indeed, — that 
of  Soignies  in  Brabant,  and  the  venerable  one  of  Ardennes, 
still  extending  almost  from  Valenciennes  to  Treves  on  the 
south-east,  give  an  air  of  picturesqueness  to  some  of  those 
districts  :  yet  Belgium,  in  comparison  v^'ith  other  regions  of 
Europe,  has  little  to  diversify  its  aspect,  and  less  to  adorn  it. 
It  is  not,  however,  destitute  of  a  certain  grace,  which,  if  not 
strictly  beautiful,  is  still  calculated  to  yield  pleasure  to  the 
observer.  Ascending  the  church-tower  of  any  of  its  towns 
— the  only  position  from  which  an  extensive  view  can  be 
commanded, — the  eye  ranges  over  a  vast  space  of  fertile  and 
highly  cultivated  land,  intersected  with  numerous  canals,  and 
studded  with  towns  and  villages  in  every  direction,  the  smoke 
and  the  spires  of  which  give  a  character  of  diligence  and  life 
to  the  prospect ;  while  the  multitudes  of  antique  monastic 
buildings,  generally  embosomed  among  woods,  or  here  and 
there  a  feudal  castle,  with  its  high  peaked  roofs,  its  quaint 
architecture  and  obsolete  defences,  reflect  back  upon  the  mind 
a  touching  shadow  of  the  romantic  ages.  Nor  is  the  scene 
without  interest,  borrowed  from  times  of  a  more  recent  date. 
For  the  last  three  hundred  years,  Belgium  has  been  the  great 
arena  of  the  political  contests  of  Europe :  from  the  age  of 
William  of  Orange  to  that  of  Buonaparte,  the  destinies  of 
the  world  have  been  fought  for  and  decided  here  :  and  no 
country  contains  as  many  spots  rendered  famous  by  the 
memory  of  sieges  and  treaties  and  victories, 

A  transient  visitor  longs  for  the  sublime  in  natural 
scenery ;  the  useful  is  more  valuable  to  a  resident :  and  if 
Belgium  ranks  low  in  the  estimation  of  the  former,  it  should 


102  MISCELLANIES 

rank  proportionably  high  in  the  estimation  of  the  latter. 
No  part  of  the  Continent  is  better  adapted  for  the  purposes 
of  life,  or  yields  a  more  ready  and  abundant  reward  to  the 
labours  of  the  husbandman.  For  six  centuries,  it  has  vied 
with  Lombardy,  for  a  shorter  period  with  England,  in  merit- 
ing to  be  entitled  the  garden  of  Europe ;  a  distinction  which 
it  owes  no  less  to  the  fertility  and  conveniences  of  its  soil, 
than  to  the  experience  and  activity  of  those  who  till  it.  A 
rich  sandy  loam,  with  but  a  few  inferior  patches  of  clay, — 
dressed  with  neatness,  and  copiously  manured,  without  the 
use  of  fallows,  gives  a  constant  return  of  twelve  or  ten  to  one 
in  the  best  districts,  and  of  seven  or  six  to  one  even  in  the 
worst.  The  artificial  products  of  its  agriculture  differ  not 
materially  from  those  of  our  own  country  :  its  corn,  fruit, 
hemp,  flax,  have  long  been  known ;  its  wool,  though  not 
equal  to  that  of  England,  is  of  good  quality,  having  been 
improved  by  the  mixture  of  a  breed  imported  by  the  Dutch 
from  India ;  and  its  horses  and  cattle  are  greatly  esteemed 
for  their  strength  and  size.  In  regard  to  native  vegetables, 
the  same  similarity  is  to  be  observed  ;  the  relative  quantity 
alone  being  sometimes  different  from  what  is  found  with  us, 
very  rarely  the  kind.  The  hop-plant  once  formed  an  excep- 
tion :  it  was  introduced  by  Henry  viii.  from  Belgium,  where 
it  grows  spontaneously.  In  Luxemburg,  also,  a  little  wine 
is  produced ;  though  otherwise  that  province  is  the  most 
barren  of  the  whole. 

This  similarity  in  the  vegetable  productions  of  England 
and  Belgium  might  lead  us  to  expect  a  corresponding  simi- 
larity in  their  climates :  and  observation  confirms  this 
supposition.  The  climate  of  Belgium  closely  resembles  that 
of  the  south  of  England  :  the  air,  though  cold,  is  healthy ; 
frequent  sea-breezes  keep  it  in  a  state  of  purity  ;  and  as  the 
soil,  owing  to  its  sandy  nature,  is  far  drier  than  that  of 
Holland,  as  it  is  also  far  more  elevated  with  regard  to  the  level 
of  the  waters, — the  mists  and  tempests,  the  wet  and  cloudy 
winters  of  the  northern  provinces  are  much  less  common  here. 


THE    NETHERLANDS  103 

The  comparison  which  Belgium  may  sustain  with  England, 
in  regard  to  its  climate,  and  the  productions  of  its  soil,  will 
fail  if  extended  to  the  interior  of  its  rocks.  Belgium  has 
few  minerals  ;  and  those  few  not  valuable  or  extensively  dis- 
tributed. Some  copper  and  lead  at  Namur,  some  iron  in 
Luxemburg  and  Hainaut,  some  calamine  and  zinc  near 
Limburg,  one  or  two  coal-mines  in  the  tract  between 
Maestricht  and  Charleroi,  are  all  it  has  to  boast  of  in  this 
respect ;  and  the  scantiness  of  Nature  has  been  slightly 
compensated  by  the  diligence  or  skill  of  the  inhabitants. 
Their  mines  have  never  been  judiciously  managed ;  their 
coal-mines,  in  particular,  till  the  late  war,  by  excluding  all 
regular  intercourse  with  Britain,  forced  the  people  to  depend 
on  their  own  resources,  were  almost  entirely  neglected  :  they 
are  now  increasing  in  importance  and  productiveness,  though 
still  far  within  the  limits  of  their  capability. 

The  levelness  of  surface,  which  is  unfavourable  to  the 
discovery  and  working  of  mines,  is  highly  advantageous,  in 
another  respect,  by  the  facility  it  affords  for  constructing 
canals.  In  Belgium,  as  in  Holland,  canals  perform  the 
services  which  roads  perform  elsewhere :  they  intersect  the 
country  in  every  direction,  and  form  the  usual  mode  of  com- 
munication from  one  town  to  another.  Some  of  them  are 
as  old  as  the  tenth  century ;  they  abound  in  all  quarters  at 
present ;  and  the  existing  government,  avoiding  the  niggardly 
policy  of  its  predecessor,  is  anxious  to  keep  them  in  repair. 
The  rivers  of  Belgium  are  not  unlike  canals  in  their  appear- 
ance, and  equally  useful  to  commerce.  None  of  them  are  of 
great  length  ;  but  the  slowness  of  their  descent  accumulates 
their  waters,  and  allows  them  to  be  navigated  far  above  their 
mouth.  The  Maese,  or  Meuse,  is  the  most  interesting  in  its 
scenery.  It  rises  in  France,  from  the  elevation  that  gives 
birth  also  to  the  Aube,  the  Marne,  and  the  Saone ;  and  after 
receiving  the  Sambre  at  Namur  on  its  left  side,  and  the 
Atwaller  on  the  right  at  Liege,  it  joins  the  Waal  by  several 
outlets  in  Northern,  or  Dutch  Brabant.      Between  the  towns 


104  MISCELLANIES 

just  mentioned,  its  shores  exhibit  on  a  smaller  scale  much 
of  the  romantic  scenery  which  adorns  those  of  the  Rhine. 
The  Scheldt,  as  far  inferior  in  beauty  to  the  Maese,  as  it  is 
superior  in  utility  for  trade,  rises  also  in  France,  near 
Bohain  in  the  Aisne  Department ;  is  augmented  by  the  Lys 
on  its  left  side  at  Ghent,  by  the  Dender  and  Rupel  on  its 
right ;  and  discharges  itself  by  two  large  channels,  the 
eastern  Scheldt,  which  passes  by  Bergen-op-Zoom,  and  the 
western  Scheldt,  which  passes  towards  Flushing,  as  well  as  by 
a  multiplicity  of  smaller  ones,  the  interlacements  of  which 
give  rise  to  the  islands  of  Zealand.  The  Scheldt  is  not  so 
long  as  the  Thames,  but  like  that  stream  it  deepens  and 
widens  to  a  great  extent  by  the  resistance  of  the  sea. 

By  means  of  those  rivers,  their  subsidiary  streams,  and  the 
canals  which  connect  them  with  each  other  and  with  the 
Rhine,  Belgium  has  an  expeditious  and  safe  communication 
with  all  places  in  the  north  of  France,  with  the  west  of 
Germany,  and  even  with  Switzerland.  Such  advantages  for 
commercial  intercourse  were  soon  laid  hold  of  by  the  inhabi- 
tants. The  fertility  of  their  soil,  their  fortunate  position 
in  regard  to  neighbouring  nations,  combined  with  those 
advantages  to  introduce  an  extensive  and  flourishing  trade 
during  the  early  ages.  The  wealth  which  this  generated 
and  diffused  over  the  towns  of  Belgium,  secured  their  poli- 
tical freedom  at  a  period  when,  excepting  Italy,  nothing 
like  freedom,  or  even  well  organised  despotism,  existed  in 
the  world :  and  this  new  stimulus  reacted  powerfully  on 
the  cause  which  had  produced  it.  The  first  enterprises  of  the 
Belgians  were  directed  to  the  neighbouring  coasts  of  Britain 
and  Denmark.  The  wool  brought  back  from  the  former 
employed  thousands  of  workmen  in  Bruges,  Ghent,  and 
Antwerp :  and  before  the  middle  of  the  twelfth  century, 
Flemish  cloths  were  widely  sold  over  France  and  Germany. 
Already  in  the  preceding  century,  the  ships  of  Friesland  were 
to  be  found  in  the  Belt ;  some  of  them  even  ventured  to  visit 
the  Levant.      Without  a  compass,  these  enterprising  mariners 


THE    NETHERLANDS  105 

had  the  courage  and  skill  to  approach  the  Pole,  and  coast 
round  the  northern  capes  of  Russia.  From  the  towns  of  the 
Baltic,  Belgium  acquired  a  portion  of  the  Oriental  trade,  the 
course  of  which  was  at  that  time  by  the  Black  Sea  through 
Russia  to  those  regions.  In  the  thirteenth  century,  it  is  true, 
this  trade  began  to  fail ;  the  crusades  had  opened  a  new  path 
for  the  commodities  of  India  by  the  Mediterranean ;  the 
states  of  Italy  seized  upon  the  lucrative  employment  of 
transporting  them ;  and  the  Hanseatic  League  was  formed 
in  Germany.  But  those  changes,  while  they  altered  the 
direction  of  the  Flemish  trade,  greatly  increased  its  quantity. 
Belgium  soon  became  the  emporium  of  Europe,  the  point  of 
communication  between  the  north  and  the  south.  Seamen 
had  not  yet  universally  adopted  the  use  of  the  magnet ;  and 
even  such  as  had,  were  accustomed,  according  to  their  former 
practice,  to  creep  slowly  along  the  coasts,  doubling  every 
promontory,  and  scarcely  on  any  account  venturing  into  the 
open  sea.  The  time  consumed  in  such  voyages  may  easily  be 
conceived.  But  the  harbours  of  the  Baltic  are  often  frozen 
during  winter,  and  inaccessible  to  any  ship.  Vessels,  there- 
fore, which  could  not  easily  traverse  the  wide  distance  from 
the  Mediterranean  to  the  Belt,  in  a  single  season,  were  glad 
to  find  a  place  of  union  midway  between  both.  Belgium, 
with  an  immense  extent  of  country  behind  it,  and  connected 
with  it  by  canals  and  navigable  streams,  open  also  by  safe 
harbours  to  the  ocean  on  the  west,  seemed  expressly  suited 
for  such  a  purpose.  It  was  not  slow  to  profit  by  its  circum- 
stances. Staples  were  erected  in  all  the  principal  towns. 
Portuguese,  Spaniards,  Italians,  French,  English,  Germans, 
Danes,  Swedes,  travelled  thither  with  merchandise  from  all 
quarters  of  the  globe.  The  competition  of  sellers  lowered 
the  price  ;  domestic  industry  was  quickened  by  the  existence 
of  a  near  and  abundant  market ;  and  the  Princes  of  the 
country,  awakening  at  length  to  their  true  interests,  en- 
couraged the  merchant  by  important  privileges,  and  protected 
his    foreign    speculations    by    special    treaties    with    external 


106  MISCELLANIES 

powers.  United  among  themselves,  the  Flemish  towns  at 
last  ventured  to  renounce  the  Hanseatic  Confederation,  and 
even  to  defy  that  powerful  enemy  wherever  it  opposed  them. 
The  Hanse  merchants,  when  the  harbours  of  Spain  were  shut 
against  them,  felt  constrained  reluctantly  at  length  to  visit 
the  markets  of  their  rivals,  and  purchase  Spanish  goods  in 
the  staples  of  Belgium. 

During  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries,  Bruges  in 
Flanders  was  the  heart  of  commercial  Europe ;  the  great 
fair  of  all  nations.  In  the  year  1468,  a  hundred  and  fifty 
merchant  ships  might  be  seen  at  once  all  entering  its  haroour 
of  Sluys.  Besides  the  rich  magazine  of  the  Hanse  Confedera- 
tion, the  warehouses  of  fifteen  mercantile  bodies  were  to  be 
found  here ;  with  factories  and  families  of  merchants  from 
every  country  of  the  civilised  world.  It  was  the  emporium 
of  all  northern  products  for  the  south ;  of  all  southern  and 
oriental  products  for  the  north.  The  latter  proceeded  in 
Hanse  bottoms  through  the  Sound,  and  along  the  Rhine  to 
Upper  Germany,  or  were  carried  by  land  eastward  to  Bruns- 
wick and  Liineburg. 

The  prosperity  of  Bruges,  Ghent,  and  the  neighbouring 
towns,  was  accompanied  with  unbridled  luxury,  and  with  a 
turbulent  spirit  of  insubordination,  which  at  last  brought  on 
their  downfall.  They  quarrelled  with  their  rulers  ;  and  the 
issue  was  unfortunate.  Maximilian  of  Austria,  whom  the 
people  of  Bruges  had  even  the  boldness  to  lay  hold  of  (1497), 
and  confine  with  his  suite  till  their  grievances  were  redressed, 
was  obliged  for  a  time  to  give  way ;  but  Frederick  iii.,  Maxi- 
milian's father,  used  every  effort  to  revenge  this  insult.  He 
seized  the  harbour  of  Sluys ;  and  thereby  during  ten  years 
greatly  impeded  their  trade.  The  Flemish  weavers,  too,  who 
had  now  settled  in  England,  began  to  produce  cloths  of  their 
own :  the  Italian  merchants  began  to  frequent  other  fairs ; 
the  Hanse  Confederation,  exasperated  by  the  haughtiness  of 
the  city,  carried  away  their  factories ;  and  the  commerce  of 
Bruges  gradually  sunk, — but  slowly,  as  it  had  arisen  slowly. 


THE    NETHERLANDS  107 

The  decline  of  Bruges  produced  a  change,  but  no  diminu- 
tion in  the  general  trade  of  Belgium.  Antwerp  now  stood 
forth  to  fill  up  its  place;  and  each  source  of  wealth,  as  it  ceased 
to  flow  in  the  channels  of  Bruges,  was  sedulously  diverted 
into  those  of  its  rival.  If  the  Italian  merchants,  the  Hanse 
Confederation,  the  cloth-dealers  of  England  turned  away  from 
the  port  of  Sluys,  it  was  only  to  enter  that  of  the  Scheldt : 
and  Antwerp,  under  the  government  of  Charles  v.,  had  be- 
come the  liveliest  and  most  splendid  city  in  Christendom. 
Its  excellent  haven  invited  ships  ;  its  privileged  fairs  allured 
traders  from  all  quarters.  The  industry  of  Belgium  had 
mounted  to  its  summit  at  the  commencement  of  the  sixteenth 
century.  The  produce  of  grain  and  flax,  the  rearing  of 
cattle,  the  curing  of  fish,  enriched  the  peasant ;  arts,  manu- 
factures, and  commerce,  the  townsman.  Ere  long  the  pro- 
ductions of  Flemish  industry  were  to  be  met  with  in  Arabia, 
Persia,  and  India ;  Flemish  ships  covered  the  ocean  ;  we  find 
them  even  on  the  Black  Sea  contending  with  the  Genoese  : 
and  their  mariners  were  distinguished  from  all  others,  by 
hoisting  sail  at  every  season,  even  the  rudest  of  the  year. 

When  the  new  route  by  the  Cape  was  discovered,  and  the 
Portuguese  trade  undermined  that  of  the  Levant,  Belgium 
did  not  feel  the  blow  which  laid  prostrate  the  Italian  re- 
publics. Portugal  erected  its  staples  in  Brabant ;  and  the 
spices  of  Calicut  were  displayed  in  the  markets  of  Antwerp. 
Hither  also  flowed  the  West-India  produce,  with  which  the 
proud  indolence  of  Spain  rewarded  the  diligence  of  the  Low 
Countries.  The  East-India  sales  of  Antwerp  attracted  the 
Fuggers  and  Welsers  from  Augsburg,  and  the  richest  com- 
panies of  Florence,  Lucca,  and  Genoa.  The  Hanseatic 
Confederation  exposed  their  northern  productions  here ;  and 
our  English  company  of  merchant  adventurers  are  said  to 
have  employed  above  30,000  of  its  people.  The  renown  of 
Antwerp  extended  itself  over  all  the  earth.  Towards  the 
conclusion  of  this  century,  a  society  of  Turkish  traders  begged 
permission  to  settle  there,  and  circulate  from  that  centre  the 


108  MISCELLANIES 

products  of  the  east  over  Greece.  With  the  exchange  of 
goods,  that  of  money  also  increased.  Flemish  bills  were 
current  in  all  quarters  of  the  globe.  Antwerp,  it  is  main- 
tained, transacted  more  business  at  that  period  within  a 
month,  than  Venice  had  done  within  two  years,  during  the 
most  brilliant  epoch  of  its  history. 

In  1492,  the  Hanseatic  Confederation  held  its  general 
congress  in  Antwerp,  not  in  Lubec,  as  formerly.  In  1531, 
the  Exchange  was  built,  the  most  magnificent  in  Europe  at 
the  time,  and  afterwards  the  model  of  that  of  London.  The 
city  contained  200,000  inhabitants ;  but  the  floating  multi- 
tude, the  world  which  pressed  towards  it  on  every  side,  exceeds 
all  belief.  Above  500  ships  entered  and  left  its  harbour 
daily ;  above  200  coaches  daily  passed  through  its  gates ; 
upwards  of  2000  waggons  arrived  weekly  from  Germany, 
France,  and  Lorraine,  not  reckoning  farm -wains  and  pro- 
vision-carts, which  commonly  exceeded  10,000.  The  exports 
and  imports  seemed  infinite  in  variety  and  immense  in 
quantity.  The  spiceries  and  drugs  alone,  which  Lisbon  sent 
into  it,  were  valued  at  a  million  of  crowns  in  the  year. 

But  the  splendour  of  Antwerp  was  not  destined  to  be 
lasting.  It  departed  like  that  of  Bruges ;  and  not  slowly, 
as  that  of  Bruges  had  done ;  it  was  extinguished  at  once  in 
the  zenith  of  its  glory,  and  has  never  more  returned.  The 
stern  oppression  of  tyrannical  governors,  the  sterner  persecu- 
tion of  inquisitors,  the  devastations  of  a  savage  and  fanatical 
soldiery,  all  that  is  cruellest  in  the  scourge  of  war,  when 
despotism  and  bigotry  unite  to  make  it  cruel,  descended  upon 
Antwerp  like  a  thunderbolt,  and  destroyed  it  irrevocably. 
The  peaceful  merchant  fled  in  terror  from  a  Granvella  and 
an  Alva,  and  all  the  riches  and  power  of  Belgium  fled  along 
with  him.  Since  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century,  a  suc- 
cession of  unfavourable  circumstances, — the  change  of  masters, 
the  invasion  of  enemies,  the  preferable  condition,  and  hence 
the  successful  rivalry  of  Holland  or  of  England,  have  per- 
petuated the  depression  brought  on  by  the  blind  and  execrable 


THE    NETHERLANDS  109 

policy  of  Philip  ii.,  and  nothing  can  be  stronger  than  the 
contrast  of  what  Belgium  is  with  what  it  was.  For  the  last 
200  years  its  external  trade  has  been  trifling,  and  up  to  the 
present  date,  it  has  not  sensibly  increased.  Few  of  its  vessels 
visit  foreign  countries,  and  the  scanty  remnant  of  its  trade 
is  mostly  inland  to  Germany.  The  western  districts,  how- 
ever, export  some  flax  and  hemp  ;  the  other  districts,  corn 
and  various  kinds  of  seed.  The  manufactures  have  ex- 
perienced an  enormous,  though  not  a  proportional,  decline 
also.  Some  remains  of  the  woollen  trade  are  still  found  at 
Bruges  ;  manufactures  of  lace  and  linen  at  Brussels,  Antwerp, 
Louvain,  Ghent,  and  Mechlin ;  Antwerp  is  farther  noticed 
for  its  silk,  Ghent  for  its  cotton,  and  Liege  prepares  hardware 
and  leather. 

The  ancient  opulence  of  Belgium  is,  however,  still  dis- 
cernible in  the  multitude  of  its  towns  and  villages.  No 
portion  of  Europe  excites  the  attention  of  a  stranger  so 
forcibly  in  this  respect.  Many  of  these  places  are  fortified  : 
except  on  the  borders  of  the  Maese,  where  the  ground  con- 
tains marble  and  stone,  they  are  uniformly  built  of  brick, 
with  steep  roofs,  the  ends  of  which  are  directed  to  the 
street ;  and  their  general  appearance  is,  on  the  whole,  quiet 
and  agreeable.  Brussels,  the  chief  city  of  Brabant,  indeed 
of  Belgium,  is  alternately,  with  the  Hague,  the  seat  of 
the  Parliament  of  the  New  Kingdom.  It  stands  on  the 
Senne,  beside  a  fine  canal,  which  has  lately  been  repaired. 
The  city  is  beautiful  and  well  built ;  has  a  college,  an 
academy,  and  a  public  library,  which  contains  120,000 
volumes.  The  Hotel-de-Ville  is  a  large  Gothic  edifice,  with 
a  tower  364  feet  high.  The  Palace  of  Lacken  is  in  the 
neighbourhood.  Brussels  stands  among  meadows,  which, 
being  frequently  inundated  by  the  Senne  in  winter,  render 
its  situation  disagreeable,  though  their  growth,  so  much  the 
more  luxuriant  in  summer,  increases  its  beauty  and  con- 
venience. The  population  is  estimated  at  75,000.  They 
manufacture    lace,    hats,    gloves,    cotton,    silk    and    woollen 


110  MISCELLANIES 

cloths ;  their  fabric  of  camlet  was  long  the  first  in  Europe. 
Antwerp,  situated  on  the  Scheldt,  though  fallen,  as  we  have 
seen,  from  its  former  magnificence,  is  still  the  second  city  of 
Belgium.  Its  streets  are  broad  and  regular,  and  many  of 
its  public  buildings  are  beautiful  The  citadel,  built  by  the 
Duke  of  Alva,  was  the  scene  of  some  bold  enterprises  in  the 
wars  of  Philip  ii.  The  Exchange  has  already  been  mentioned, 
and  the  Cathedral  is  admired  as  the  finest  piece  of  Gothic 
architecture  existing  in  Europe.  The  harbour  has  lately 
undergone  some  improvement ;  it  was  greatly  damaged  by 
our  armies  in  1814.  Antwerp  manufactures  most  of  the 
laces  known  by  the  name  of  Mechlins ;  it  is  noted  for  its 
thread ;  it  trades  in  diamonds,  and  prepares  some  cloths  and 
chemical  products.  The  population  is  63,000.  Ghent  or 
Gand,  the  capital  of  Flanders,  is  placed  at  the  junction  of 
the  Scheldt  with  the  Lys  and  the  small  rivers  Moere  and 
Lierre,  by  which  means  it  is  divided  into  no  fewer  than  26 
islands,  most  of  which  are  bordered  with  quays.  Ghent, 
like  Antwerp,  is  greatly  decayed.  From  one  gate  to  the 
other  is  a  distance  of  a  league,  but  much  of  the  intervening 
space  is  laid  out  in  gardens,  or  even  ploughed  fields,  and  the 
city  does  not  now  contain  above  57,000  inhabitants.  It  is 
remarkable  as  the  birth-place  of  Charles  v.,  whose  punning 
boast,  that  he  could  put  all  Paris  in  his  Gand  (glove),  has 
often  been  recorded.  The  principal  manufactures  are  cotton- 
cloth  and  lace.  Liege  is  the  capital  of  the  province  which 
bears  its  name.  It  has  an  academy  and  a  lyceum,  but  its 
churches  and  public  building  have  suffered  greatly  during  the 
late  wars.  The  population  is  50,000.  As  we  have  stated 
above,  they  work  in  various  metallic  fabrics,  and  prepare 
leather.  Bruges  is  now  reduced  from  its  ancient  grandeur  to 
a  population  of  33,000.  It  stands  on  a  beautiful  plain, 
and  its  260  streets  are  spacious  and  elegant,  though  consist- 
ing of  old  and  thinly  inhabited  houses.  Among  its  principal 
deficiencies  is  the  want  of  springs  or  running  streams;  the 
water  used  in  culinary  operations  has  to  be  transported  from 


THE    NETHERLANDS  111 

the  Lys  and  Scheldt  by  the  canals.  Of  its  public  buildings, 
the  steeple  at  the  end  of  the  great  market-place  is  reckoned 
one  of  the  finest  in  Europe ;  the  ascent  to  it  is  by  133  steps. 
Bruges  manufactures  some  woollen  cloth,  with  a  little  cotton 
and  lace.  Of  the  other  towns  in  Belgium,  Mons,  the  capital 
of  Hainaut,  is  the  only  one  whose  population  reaches  30,000. 
Ostend  and  Sluys  are  the  sea-ports  ;  their  extent  is  not  re- 
markable. The  former  has  11,000  inhabitants;  the  latter, 
a  somewhat  greater  number. 

The  government  of  Belgium,  its  establishments  for  religion 
and  for  education,  are  now  merged  with  the  corresponding 
peculiarities  of  Holland,  and  belong  to  the  characteristics  of 
that  new  kingdom,  into  which  both  countries  have  lately  been 
combined.  Before  proceeding  to  discuss  those  topics,  there- 
fore, it  will  be  proper  to  cast  our  eye  over  the  history  of  the 
provinces  which  are  now  united.  The  circumstances,  under 
which  that  union  has  taken  place,  will  then  naturally  fall  to 
be  described,  and  must  of  course  comprehend  the  government, 
with  its  revenue  and  forces,  the  religion  and  the  state  of 
education,  which  are  now  alike  for  all. 

History. — The  early  history  of  the  Netherlands  has  nothing 
in  it  very  interesting  or  peculiar.  Like  that  of  most  European 
states,  it  commences  with  an  account  of  their  subjugation. 
The  Romans  had  penetrated  into  those  countries  and  con- 
quered them  all  before  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era. 
The  people  had  not  yielded  tamely.  The  Belgae  inhabiting 
the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine,  are  described  by  Caesar  as  the 
only  Gallic  tribe  brave  enough  to  withstand  the  irruptions  of 
the  Teutones  and  Cimbri ;  the  Frisians,  occupying  the  right 
bank  of  the  same  river,  made  a  stubborn  opposition  in  the 
middle  of  their  swamps  ;  and  the  Batavians,  who  dwelt  upon 
the  islands  of  Zealand,  were  honoured  as  the  boldest  of  all 
the  neighbouring  clans.  Their  opposition  was  vain,  how- 
ever ;  and  their  gallant  attempt  to  cast  off  the  yoke  in  Ves- 
pasian's time  was  equally  vain.  They  submitted  to  the 
Romans,  and  participated  in  the  improvements,  which  that 


112  MISCELLANIES 

people  usually  communicated  to  the  nations  it  conquered. 
The  canal  of  Drusus,  from  the  Rhine  to  the  Flevo  or  Zuyder 
Zee,  still  exists,  though  its  character  is  altered  ;  and  the  first 
dykes,  which  protected  Holland  from  the  ocean,  are  ascribed 
to  the  enterprising  industry  of  those  governors.  The  stout 
spirit  of  resistance  shown  by  the  Batavians  had  procured 
them  respect  in  the  eyes  of  their  conquerors.  The  tribute 
of  the  province  was  paid  in  soldiers  :  Batavians  formed  the 
body-guard  of  the  Emperor  as  Swiss  have  done  in  later 
times  ;  and  the  valour  which  had  been  displayed  on  the  banks 
of  the  Rhine  was  equally  conspicuous  in  other  quarters  of 
the  empire.  Agricola  was  accompanied  and  powerfully  aided 
by  them  in  his  progress  through  our  island  ;  and  the  Dacian 
hosts  recoiled  when  Batavians  in  full  armour  swam  across  the 
Danube  to  attack  them. 

During  four  centuries  we  find  Batavians  enumerated  among 
the  Roman  armies ;  but  after  the  time  of  Honorius,  their 
name  vanishes  from  history.  The  irruption  of  the  northern 
nations  swept  over  their  country  in  its  course,  and  destroyed 
all  the  monuments  of  Roman  power  and  ingenuity.  The 
monarchy  of  the  Franks,  which  arose  on  the  ruins  of  Gaul, 
had,  in  the  sixth  and  seventh  centuries,  embraced  all  the 
provinces  of  the  Netherlands,  and  planted  the  Christian  faith 
in  them.  After  an  obstinate  struggle,  Charles  Martel  over- 
came Friesland  the  last  of  all ;  and  Charlemagne  united  the 
Avhole  of  those  countries  with  the  wide  empire,  which  he  had 
formed  for  himself  out  of  Germany,  France,  and  Lombardy. 
When  Charlemagne's  possessions  were  again  divided  among 
his  successors,  the  Netherlands  became  at  one  time  provinces 
of  Germany,  at  another  of  France ;  and  we  find  them  at 
last  designated  bv  the  names  of  Friesland  and  Lower 
Lorraine. 

With  the  Franks  arrived  also  the  constitution  of  the 
north ;  and  here,  as  elsewhere,  it  gradually  degenerated. 
The  stronger  vassals  separated  in  process  of  time  from  the 
crown ;  and  the  royal  officers  laid  hold  of  the  districts  over 


THE    NETHERLANDS  113 

which  they  were  sent  to  preside,  and  rendered  them  heredi- 
tary in  their  families.  But  those  revolted  vassals  could  not 
hope  to  resist  their  king,  except  by  the  help  of  their  inferior 
retainers ;  and  the  support  thus  required  was  repaid  by  fresh 
infeudations.  The  priesthood,  in  the  mean  time,  also,  growing 
wealthy  and  powerful,  had  extorted  for  itself  an  independent 
existence  in  its  abbeys  and  episcopal  sees.  And  thus  in  the 
tenth,  eleventh,  twelfth,  and  thirteenth  centuries,  the  Nether- 
lands were  split  down  into  a  number  of  petty  sovereignties, 
the  heads  of  which  held  partly  of  the  empire,  partly  of 
France.  By  purchase,  marriage,  inheritance,  or  conquest, 
several  of  these  lordships  were  frequently  united  under  one 
master;  and  in  the  fifteenth  century  we  find  the  house  of 
Burgundy  in  possession  of  almost  the  whole.  Philip  the 
Good,  by  prosecuting  various  claims,  just  and  the  contrary, 
had  at  last  succeeded  in  uniting  eleven  of  the  provinces 
under  his  authority ;  and  Charles  the  Bold,  his  son,  increased 
them  by  the  conquest  of  other  two.  And  thus  a  new  state 
had  silently  arisen  in  Europe,  to  which  nothing  but  the  name 
was  wanting  to  make  it  the  most  flourishing  kingdom  in  that 
quarter  of  the  world.  Such  extensive  possessions  made  the 
Duke  of  Burgundy  a  suspicious  neighbour  to  the  king  of 
France  ;  and  inspired  the  restless  spirit  of  Charles  the  Bold 
with  the  plan  of  a  conquest,  destined  to  include  the  whole 
tract  of  country  extending  between  Alsace  and  the  mouths 
of  the  Rhine.  The  duke's  inexhaustible  resources  justified 
in  some  measure  this  proud  chimera :  a  powerful  army 
threatened  to  realise  it;  and  Switzerland  already  trembled 
for  its  freedom.  But  fortune  forsook  Charles  at  the  battles 
of  Granson,  of  Morat,  of  Nancy:  he  fell  by  an  unknown 
hand ;  and  his  very  corpse  was  all  but  lost  among  the  car- 
nage of  his  followers. 

The  future  husband  of  his  sole  daughter  and  heiress, 
Maria,  would  now  become  the  richest  prince  of  the  time. 
Maximilian,  Duke,  afterwards  Emperor  of  Austria,  and 
Louis  XI.  of  France,  were  rivals  for  this  honour,  and  excluded 

VOL.   V.  H 


114  MISCELLANIES 

the  claims  of  humbler  competitors.  The  States  of  the 
Netherlands  dreaded  the  power  and  the  tyranny  of  Louis  : 
Maximilian  was  weaker  and  more  distant ;  they  decided  for 
him.  Their  political  foresight  corresponded  ill  with  the 
event.  Philip  the  Fair,  Maximilian's  and  Maria's  son,  acquired 
with  his  Spanish  bride,  the  extensive  monarchy  which  Ferdi- 
nand and  Isabella  had  lately  founded ;  Charles  v.  the  next 
heir,  augmented  this  inheritance  by  his  grandfather's  imperial 
crown  ;  and  the  Netherlands,  thus  become  the  province  of  an 
overwhelming  empire,  had  soon  cause  to  experience  and  repent 
the  change  in  their  situation.  During  the  succeeding  age, 
this  connection  with  Spain  gave  rise  to  the  most  terrible,  as 
well  as  the  most  glorious  event  of  their  history. 

Prior  to  the  Burgundian  dynasty,  and  under  it,  the 
Netherlands,  profiting  by  their  natural  advantages  for  com- 
merce, had  acquired  considerable  wealth  ;  their  wealth  secured 
to  them  a  free  though  complicated  constitution  ;  and  they 
gradually  rose  to  be  the  first  trading  nation  in  the  world. 
The  fulness  of  prosperity,  which  we  have  described  as  existing 
at  Bruges  and  Antwerp,  was  but  the  concentrated  result  of 
an  adventurous  industry,  abundant  riches,  and  a  generous 
spirit  of  independence,  disseminated  over  all  the  country. 
At  the  accession  of  Charles  v.  the  Netherlands  abounded  in 
resources  beyond  any  other  portion  of  his  great  dominions. 
The  complex  politics  of  this  prince,  his  far-extended  under- 
takings, gave  him  ample  use  for  all  their  contributions ;  and 
his  irresistible  power  allowed  him  to  make  various  inroads 
on  their  freedom.  The  taxes  he  levied  on  them  were 
immense,  and  granted  unwillingly.  He  more  than  once 
introduced  foreign  troops  into  their  towns,  foreign  officers 
into  their  government ;  the  tribunals  of  the  country  were 
subjected  to  the  revision  of  a  supreme  court  established  by 
the  emperor  at  Brussels,  and  entirely  devoted  to  his  will. 
A  still  more  glaring  instance  of  his  arbitrary  procedure  was 
the  conduct  he  pursued  with  regard  to  religion.  The  new 
light  of  the  Reformation,  which  in  his  reign  was  dazzling  or 


THE    NETHERLANDS  115 

illuminating  every  corner  of  Europe,  had  early  found  its  way 
into  the  Netherlands,  and  excited  instant  notice  there. 
Foreign  merchants  assuming  the  liberty  of  speech  and  action 
natural  to  persons  in  their  situation,  had  already  professed 
the  doctrines  of  Luther.  The  Swiss  and  German  soldiers  of 
Charles  were  often  Protestants :  the  nobles  of  the  country 
were  accustomed  to  study  in  the  academies  of  Geneva : 
refugees  from  France  and  England  were  allured  by  the 
freedom  of  the  Low  Countries  to  escape  from  the  pressure 
of  domestic  persecution  ;  their  mechanical  skill  or  commercial 
capital  was  welcomed  as  a  benefit ;  and  their  opinions  were 
listened  to  with  toleration  or  approval,  by  a  people  in  whom 
an  intercourse  with  remote  and  dissimilar  nations  had 
softened  the  asperities  of  bigotry, — in  whom  the  long 
possession  of  wealth  and  social  comforts  had  developed  a 
spirit  of  inquiry  and  comparison,  while  their  trading  pre- 
judices, their  exclusive  respect  for  diligence,  and  their  love  of 
gain,  were  shocked  at  the  expensive,  unproductive  establish- 
ment— the  lazy  monks  and  haughty  prelates — of  a  hierarchy, 
whose  gorgeous  splendours  suggested  no  idea  but  that  of 
useless  cost  to  their  calculating  and  unimaginative  minds. 
The  art  of  printing  circulated  those  speculations  among  the 
higher  classes.  Bands  of  adventurers,  animated  by  the  love 
of  truth  or  the  love  of  change,  moved  over  the  country  from 
place  to  place  to  circulate  them  among  the  lower.  To  the 
serious,  those  speakers,  as  they  were  named,  could  preach 
with  all  the  fervid  zeal  of  missionaries  and  apostates  :  for  the 
careless  and  light  of  heart,  they  had  songs,  and  farces,  and 
buffooneries  in  every  possible  stvle  of  contrivance.  Such 
multifarious  causes  did  not  work  in  vain.  The  Romish 
church  in  the  Netherlands,  attacked  at  once  by  argument 
and  ridicule,  by  enthusiasm  and  self-interest,  was  nodding  to 
its  fall  before  the  danger  had  been  met  or  even  noticed.  Its 
guardians  at  length  awoke,  and  the  usual  expedients  were 
put  in  motion.  Charles  v.  had  agreed  to  tolerate  the 
Evangelical    creed    in    Germany,  because    its  professors  were 


116  MISCELLANIES 

formidable  in  their  united  strength  ;  but  he  seemed  anxious 
to  make  amends  for  this  compelled  forbearance,  by  a  double 
severity  in  treating  the  heretics  of  the  Netherlands,  Contrary 
to  the  fundamental  laws  of  the  state — contrary  to  the  uni- 
versal wish,  no  less  than  to  the  voice  of  justice  and  humanity, 
he  introduced  religious  tribunals  into  the  country,  to  superin- 
tend the  execution  of  his  edicts,  in  which  the  most  stern  and 
relentless  vengeance  had  been  denounced  against  any  variation, 
however  slight,  from  the  Romish  creed.  The  guilt  of  having 
advanced  heretical  doctrines,  of  having  even  assisted  at  a 
secret  meeting  of  the  Reformed,  was  punished  with  death — 
by  the  axe,  if  the  culprit  was  a  man  ;  women  were  buried 
alive.  A  relapsed  heretic  was  committed  to  the  flames,  and 
no  recantation  availed  him.  The  ministers  of  Charles  were 
diligent  enough  in  their  obedience.  Fifty  thousand  persons 
perished  on  the  scaffold  here,  "  suffering  for  conscience  sake," 
during  his  reign.  No  privacy,  however  sacred,  was  secure ; 
no  age,  or  sex,  or  rank,  was  spared  ;  and  this  once  cheerful 
land  was  overshadowed  with  grief,  and  terror,  and  silence. 
Posterity  have  learned,  with  a  kind  of  satisfaction,  that,  in 
his  old  age  and  retirement,  Charles  himself  began  to  doubt ; 
that  the  spirit  which  had  never  felt  for  the  fate  of  another, 
was  doomed  in  its  feebleness  to  experience  the  blackest  terrors 
for  its  own  fate,  and  to  leave  the  world  it  had  wasted  and 
deformed,  under  a  xveight  of  blood  which  superstition  itself 
could  no  longer  alleviate. 

Charles,  however,  was  less  a  bigot  than  a  despot :  he 
relaxed  his  cruelties  when  he  found  they  would  interfere  with 
the  prosperity  of  a  country  whose  revenues  he  needed  so 
much  ;  and  he  preferred  allowing  the  continuance  of  errone- 
ous doctrines  at  Antwerp,  to  the  hazard  of  destroying  the 
commerce  of  the  city  in  extirpating  them  by  an  Inquisition 
similar  to  that  of  Spain.  The  people,  too,  were  inclined  to 
suffer  much  at  his  hands.  He  was  their  countryman  ;  spoke 
their  language,  adopted  their  manners,  and  visited  them 
often.     The  fame  of  his  victories,  his  talents,  and  his  power, 


THE    NETHERLANDS  117 

laid  hold  of  their  admiration  ;  and  the  promotions  which  he 
lavished  on  their  chief  men,  secured  him  a  permanent  interest 
among  the  inferior.  And  if  all  those  persuasives  could  not 
lead  to  obedience,  the  extent  of  his  other  dominions  was 
sufficient  to  force  it.  The  prompt  and  hard  punishment  to 
which  he  had  condemned  the  mutinous  inhabitants  of  Ghent, 
was  a  lesson  of  humility  and  submission  to  all. 

But  in  the  case  of  Philip  ii.  his  son,  every  thing  was 
different.  With  a  heart  as  stony  as  his  father's,  Philip 
united  an  intellect  vastly  inferior  by  nature ;  and  the  gloomy 
tutelage  of  monks  had  narrowed  and  obscured  it  still  farther. 
He  was  born  in  Spain  ;  and  the  harsh  sadness  of  his  temper 
was  best  fitted  to  relish  the  solemn  and  monotonous  style  of 
society  prevalent  there.  In  his  youth  he  had  been  sent  to 
visit  the  Netherlands,  that  his  presence  might  conciliate  the 
affections  of  the  people  ;  but  his  haughty  deportment,  his 
unaccommodating  character,  produced  quite  an  opposite 
effect.  Philip  loved  not  the  Netherlands  ;  and  the  feeling 
was  mutual.  At  the  abdication  of  his  father  (1556),  the 
States  evinced  their  distrust  of  Philip's  intentions  by  the  vain 
attempt  which  they  made  to  guard  against  them.  The 
splendour  of-a  spectacle  so  extraordinary  could  not  lull  their 
vigilance ;  and  an  additional  oath  was  imposed  on  Philij), 
forbidding  every  shadow  of  innovation  in  the  established  laws 
of  the  country. 

The  suspicions  which  arose  so  early  were  soon  abundantly 
confirmed.  By  the  treaty  of  Chateau-Cambresis,  Philip  was 
delivered  from  all  foreign  enemies;  yet  he  obstinately  con- 
tinued, under  the  shallowest  pretences,  to  retain  a  body  of 
Spanish  troops,  occupying  the  garrisons  and  consuming  the 
resources  of  the  country.  The  edicts  of  his  father  were 
brought  forward  anew,  and  the  more  strict  and  impressive 
execution  of  them  was  intrusted  to  Cardinal  Granvella,  a 
man  whose  inflexible  disposition  and  consummate  political 
skill  were  well  fitted  for  the  purposes  of  Philip  ;  but  whose 
proud    contemptuous  behaviour  disgusted  the   nobles,   while 


118  MISCELLANIES 

his  rigid  severity  exasperated  the  people.  Under  the  advice 
or  superintendence  of  this  man,  Philip  appointed  Margaret 
of  Parma,  a  natural  daughter  of  Charles  v.,  to  be  regent  of 
the  Netherlands,  and  returned  to  Spain,  where  complaints 
and  representations  were  not  slow  to  follow  him.  The 
foreign  troops  had  remained  till  long  after  the  promised 
period  ;  the  spiritual  tribunals  were  active  ;  and  the  cardinal, 
who  had  never  been  popular,  was  fast  acquiring  universal 
execration.  The  appointment  of  fourteen  new  bishoprics, 
showed  Philip''s  zeal  to  exterminate  heretical  doctrine,  but 
was  highly  disagreeable  to  every  class  of  the  community.  It 
dissatisfied  the  nobles,  because  it  abridged  their  political  im- 
portance by  the  addition  of  so  many  votes  entirely  at  the 
royal  disposal  in  their  deliberative  assemblies ;  the  existing 
clergy,  because  it  divided  and  extenuated  their  revenue ;  the 
people,  because  it  was  meant  to  cramp  their  freedom.  The 
national  discontent  had  begun  to  exhibit  itself  in  actual 
commotions,  before  Philip,  having  vainly  tried  every  subter- 
fuge, could  be  prevailed  on  to  recal  his  minister  (1564),  and 
give  promises  to  remit  the  execution  of  his  father's  edicts, 
and  redress  the  many  grievances  of  the  state.  Nor  was  the 
calm,  which  these  occurrences  diffused,  of  long  continuance. 
Philip  intended  nothing  so  little  as  allowing  the  growth  of 
heresy,  and  he  saw  no  method  but  that  of  persecution  for 
preventing  it.  In  place,  therefore,  of  removing  the  inquisi- 
torial court,  which  differed  only  in  name  from  the  Spanish 
Inquisition,  and  which  all  men.  Catholics  as  well  as  Reformed, 
agreed  in  abhorring,  he  transmitted  express  orders  to  his 
representative,  the  Duchess  of  Parma,  to  quicken  the  move- 
ments of  that  tribunal,  and  protect  its  decrees  with  all  the 
force  of  the  civil  power.  The  Inquisition  needed  no  such 
stimulus.  It  had  already  done  its  work  effectually  enough  to 
frighten  100,000  families  from  their  native  country;  and 
now,  when  no  hope  appeared  of  deliverance  from  it,  the 
people  rose  in  many  towns  of  Flanders  (1566),  forced  the 
prisons  of  the  Inquisition,    and   set  free  all   who   were  con- 


THE    NETHERLANDS  119 

fined  there  on  religious  accusations  ;  delivering  themselves  up, 
at  the  same  time,  as  might  have  been  expected,  to  many 
other  measures  of  a  less  excusable  nature.  This  uproar 
would  have  been  appeased,  or  would  soon  have  sunk  away  of 
itself;  but,  in  the  meanwhile,  most  of  the  nobles,  participat- 
ing in  the  discontents  of  the  populace,  to  which  peculiar 
discontents  were  added  in  their  own  case,  seconded,  though 
they  affected  not  to  countenance,  the  popular  proceedings  ; 
and  formed  themselves  into  a  combination,  which  has  become 
known  to  history  by  the  epithet  Gucux  (beggars),  applied  to 
the  members  of  it  in  contempt,  by  a  minion  of  the  court, 
when  they  appeared  in  Brussels  to  lay  their  petition  and 
remonstrance  before  the  regent.  The  name  Gueiix  was 
adopted  with  an  indignant  smile,  by  the  confederacy  itself; 
and  the  symbols  of  beggary,  the  wallet  and  staff  in  minia- 
ture, became  the  rallying  emblems  of  the  dissatisfied,  and 
were  to  be  seen  on  the  persons  of  men  and  women  over  all 
the  country. 

Alarmed  by  these  unequivocal  symptoms  of  general  revolt, 
Philip  despatched  the  Duke  of  Alva  from  Spain,  at  the  head 
of  10,000  men,  to  enforce  obedience,  and  avenge  the  oppo- 
sition already  shown  to  his  mandates.  The  Duchess  of  Parma 
was  glad  to  retire  from  the  storm,  which,  in  contrasting  Alva's 
character  with  the  circumstances  of  the  state,  she  saw  clearly 
to  be  approaching  ;  and  Alva  was  appointed  governor  in  her 
stead.  His  entrance  upon  office  was  the  signal  for  universal 
despair.  Bigoted  in  his  creed,  immovable  in  his  determina- 
tions, savage  in  his  temper,  he  hated  the  Flemings  for  the 
favour  shown  them  in  the  former  reign ;  and  the  country 
soon  groaned  under  the  weight  of  his  resentment.  With  his 
council  of  twelve,  nominated  by  himself,  and  entirely  at  his 
discretion,  he  proceeded  strongly  in  the  work  of  destruction  ; 
and  the  scaffolds  soon  reeked  with  the  blood  of  thousands, 
guilty  or  innocent,  as  they  happened  to  incur  his  displeasure. 
The  people  were  driven  to  madness  ;  they  wanted  but  a  leader 
to  rise  in  open  rebellion,  and  brave  the  very  utmost  of  their 


120  MISCELLANIES 

tyrant's  fury.  A  leader  was  soon  presented  to  them  ;  and 
one  fitted  for  the  crisis  beyond  any  other  person  of  his  time. 

William,  Prince  of  Orange,  was  the  representative  of  the 
noble  family  of  Nassau,  which  had  once  given  an  emperor  to 
Germany,  and  for  many  ages  had  occupied  an  honourable 
rank  among  the  chiefs  of  that  country.  Early  taken  under 
the  protection  of  Charles  v.,  he  had  lived  constantly  at  court, 
enjoying  the  intimate  familiarity  of  that  monarch,  and  par- 
ticipating in  all  his  secrets.  William's  circumspect  demeanour 
procured  him  the  surname  of  silent ;  but  under  this  cold 
exterior,  he  concealed  a  busy,  far-sighted  intellect,  and  a 
generous,  upright,  daring  heart.  He  had  extensive  posses- 
sions in  the  Netherlands ;  and  had  been  employed  there  by 
Charles  in  various  important  duties,  in  the  discharge  of  which, 
his  talents,  his  integrity,  his  manners,  had  procured  him 
universal  confidence  and  respect.  Disappointed  in  his  ex- 
pectation of  the  regency  under  Philip,  who  hated  and  feared 
him,  he  had  continued  to  act  with  the  same  calm  stead- 
fastness, equally  resisting  the  arbitrary  measures  of  govern- 
ment, and  repressing  the  rash  attempts  of  the  harassed 
people.  On  Alva's  approach  he  retired  to  Germany ;  and 
the  fate  of  Count  Egmont,  who  shared  the  national  favour 
with  him,  and  had  perished  on  the  scaffold  at  Antwerp 
for  no  other  crime  but  sharing  it,  soon  showed  how  prudent 
this  step  had  been.  The  tribunal  which  had  condemned  his 
friend,  now  summoned  William  to  appear  likewise ;  and  as  he 
naturally  refused  to  comply,  they  proceeded  to  confiscate  his 
property,  and  brand  him  as  a  traitor.  William  was  not  of  a 
humour  to  brook  such  treatment  tamely  :  and  patriotism 
combined  with  ambition  to  strengthen  his  purpose  of  finding 
redress.  Having  formed  an  alliance  with  several  princes  of 
Germany,  and  collected  a  body  of  troops,  which  multitudes 
of  Flemish  exiles  were  rapidly  augmenting,  he  formally  re- 
nounced his  allegiance  to  the  governor,  and  entered  Friesland 
at  the  head  of  an  army  (1569). 

His  beginning  was  unsuccessful.      Alva  hastened  to  meet 


THE    NETHERLANDS  121 

him  ;  the  raw  soldier  could  not  stand  against  the  veteran  ; 
William  retired  into  Germany  once  more  ;  and  the  Spaniard 
returned  in  triumph  to  Brussels.  But  his  triumph  was  not 
lono-  undisturbed.  He  had  erected  a  statue  of  himself  in  the 
citadel  of  Antwerp ;  he  had  represented  it  as  treading  under 
foot  two  smaller  statues  emblematic  of  the  States  of  the 
Netherlands  ;  and  was  proceeding  quickly  to  demonstrate  the 
correctness  of  this  allegorical  device,  by  levying  the  most 
oppressive  taxes,  of  his  own  authority,  and  massacring,  with 
every  circumstance  of  ignominy  and  savageness,  all  such  as 
refused  to  comply  with  his  requisitions,- — -when  his  bloody 
career  was  interrupted  by  intelligence  that  the  town  of  Brille 
was  taken,  and  the  whole  island  ready  to  revolt.  He  has- 
tened thither  to  quell  the  tumult,  and  crush  the  Gneux 
patriots,  or  pirates  as  he  called  them,  who  had  caused  it. 
But  the  infamy  of  his  conduct  preceded  him  ;  William  of 
Orange,  under  whose  instructions  the  conquerors  of  Brille  had 
acted,  was  advancing  from  the  east  with  a  fresh  army  ;  and 
the  entire  provinces  of  Zealand  and  Holland  simultaneously 
threw  off  the  Spanish  yoke.  Alva  made  vast  efforts ;  but 
they  were  fruitless.  He  took  Naerden  and  Haarlem,  and 
butchered  their  inhabitants ;  but  he  failed  before  Alcmaer ; 
a  fleet  which  he  put  to  sea  with  great  exertion  was  defeated 
and  destroyed  by  the  Zealanders  ;  and  on  Philip's  order  he 
returned  to  Spain,  to  boast  that  in  five  years,  he  had  de- 
livered 18,000  heretics  into  the  hands  of  the  executioner, 
and  to  meet  the  reward  which  such  a  servant  of  such  a  prince 
unfortunately  does  not  always  meet — the  suspicion  and 
hatred  of  a  master  for  whom  he  had  sacrificed  honour  and 
humanity,  and  condemned  himself  to  permanent  and  universal 
detestation. 

Requesens  succeeded  Alva.  He  was  a  milder  and  a  better 
man  ;  but  the  time  for  mildness  was  gone  by.  Some  years 
before,  a  governor  like  Requesens  might  have  retained  the 
Netherlands  under  Philip  ;  but  the  horrors  of  Alva's  regency, 
the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew  in  France,  had  put  to  flight 


122  MISCELLANIES 

"  respective  lenity,""  and  "  fire-eyed  fury "  was  their  conduct 
now.  It  is  dangerous  to  drive  even  the  feeblest  of  creatures 
to  despair ;  and  Philip  found  he  had  calculated  too  far  on 
the  phlegmatic  patience  of  his  northern  subjects.  The  dull 
perseverance  of  their  ordinary  character  was  now  changed 
into  a  grim  and  adamantine  fixedness  of  purpose  to  suffer 
all,  to  dare  all,  but  never  to  submit.  "  Talk  not  of  sur- 
render," replied  they  to  Valdez,  the  general  of  Requesens,  at 
the  siege  of  Leyden,  when  famine  was  already  carrying  them 
in  hundreds  to  the  grave  :  "  Our  provisions  are  not  exhausted, 
and  if  they  were,  if  all  else  should  fail,  we  would  eat  our  left 
arms  and  fight  with  our  right,  that  we  might  die  fighting 
against  our  tyrants."  Their  firmness,  on  this  occasion,  was 
rewarded.  The  sluices  were  opened,  the  country  was  laid 
under  water;  a  strong  south-west  wind  rendered  fruitless 
every  attempt  to  drain  it ;  and  the  Spaniard  made  a  frightful 
retreat,  leaving  the  flower  of  his  army  buried  in  the  marshes, 
or  hewn  to  pieces  by  the  Flushing  boat  men,  who  hung  upon 
his  skirts,  with  fury  and  revenge  in  their  hearts — their  harsh 
countenances  rendered  harsher  by  scars  sustained  from  the 
same  enemy  in  former  broils,  and  their  caps  surmounted  each 
by  a  crescent,  having  the  inscription,  Turks  before  Papists. 

This  ineffectual  siege  of  Leyden  is  the  most  remarkable 
transaction  of  Requesens  in  the  Low  Countries.  It  was 
followed  (1575)  by  some  abortive  attempts  at  negotiation, 
the  Emperor  Rodolph,  and  our  Queen  Elizabeth,  acting  as 
mediators.  Neither  party  was  in  a  mood  for  negotiating ; 
and  Philip  instructed  Requesens  to  prosecute  the  war  with 
fresh  vigour.  The  latter  endeavoured  to  comply ;  he  was 
beaten  back  at  Woerden ;  but  he  reduced  Ziriczee,  had 
entered  Zealand,  and  was  meditating  an  attack  on  Holland, 
when  death  overtook  him  suddenly,  and  the  Netherlands 
were  left  without  a  governor. 

The  death  of  Requesens,  at  this  juncture,  was  a  keen  blow 
to  the  Spanish  interests.  The  troops  had  received  no  pay 
for   many   months ;    the   absence   of  a    general    made   them 


THE    NETHERLANDS  123 

clamorous  in  their  demand ;  and  as  no  funds  existed  to 
satisfy  it,  they  renounced  the  control  of  their  officers,  spread 
over  the  country  in  search  of  plunder,  sacked  the  city  of 
Antwerp  with  the  most  horrible  outrages,  and  seized  upon 
the  fortress  of  Alost,  from  which  they  threatened  other  towns 
with  a  similar  violence.  The  southern  provinces  had  hitherto 
participated  rather  in  the  feelings  than  the  actions  of  their 
revolted  countrymen  ;  and  the  seat  of  war  had  been  chiefly 
in  Holland  and  Zealand.  But  this  fearful  visitation  roused 
even  the  most  timorous  :  in  1576  all  the  states  united  them- 
selves by  a  treaty,  named  the  Pacification  of  Ghent,  having 
for  its  object  to  expel  the  foreign  soldiery,  and  restore  the 
ancient  liberties  of  the  country ;  and  Don  John,  the  new 
governor,  found  all  the  Netherlands,  except  Luxemburg,  shut 
against  his  approach.  Don  John's  ambitious  views  induced 
him  to  temporise :  he  affected  to  sanction  the  Pacification  of 
Ghent ;  was  received  peacefully  into  his  government ;  and  the 
country  had  liberty  to  breathe  for  a  moment.  It  was  but 
for  a  moment.  Don  John  watched  his  opportunity  to  seize 
the  castle  of  Namur  :  he  recalled  the  Spanish  troops,  and  the 
fire  of  war  was  kindled  again.  His  opponents  were  little 
able  to  resist,  and  their  strength  was  still  farther  weakened 
by  intestine  division.  The  Prince  of  Orange's  guarded  and 
patriotic  behaviour  could  not  appease  the  jealousy  of  the 
Catholic  confederates,  or  quench  the  envy  of  his  ancient  rival, 
the  Duke  of  Arschot,  who  affected  to  lead  them,  as  William 
did  the  Protestant  party.  While  the  latter,  therefore,  made 
application  to  Queen  Elizabeth  for  assistance,  the  other 
privately  invited  the  Archduke  Matthias,  brother,  and  after- 
wards successor  of  the  emperor  Rodolph  ii.  to  come  and  take 
upon  himself  the  office  of  governor.  The  Prince  of  Orange 
was  too  quick-sighted,  and  too  public-spirited  to  let  slip  so 
fair  an  opportunity  of  at  once  acquiring  strength  by  foreign 
connections,  and  sowing  discord  between  the  German  and 
Spanish  members  of  the  Austrian  family.  He  accordingly 
welcomed    Matthias    on   his  unexpected  arrival  at  Antwerp, 


124  MISCELLANIES 

and  persuaded  the  States  to  set  him  at  their  head.  The 
Prince  himself  was  appointed  his  lieutenant ;  and  Arschofs 
plan  was  doubly  unsuccessful.  But  neither  did  William's 
turn  out  according  to  his  hope.  Matthias  received  no 
support  from  Germany,  and  soon  fell  into  contempt ;  while 
Don  John,  reinforced  by  the  celebrated  Alessandro  Farnese, 
Prince  of  Parma,  with  18,000  veterans,  had  beaten  the 
army  of  the  States  at  Gemblours,  and  was  making  rapid 
progress  in  the  subjugation  of  the  provinces.  Don  John 
died  soon  after, — of  poison,  by  Philip,  it  was  suspected,  or  of 
chagrin  at  the  failure  of  his  schemes  on  the  English  crown, 
which  he  had  dreamed  of  obtaining  with  the  hand  of  Mary 
Queen  of  Scots ;  but  his  death  brought  no  relief  to  the  con- 
federacy. JMatthias  returned  without  honour  to  Prague ; 
the  Duke  of  Anjou,  who  was  next  called  in,  could  be  of  little 
service ;  and,  while  Parma  was  advancing  in  his  conquests, 
the  Duke  of  Arschot  was  smoothing  the  way  for  him,  by 
fostering  divisions  and  cabals  among  the  provinces  to  be 
attacked. 

To  obviate  the  evils  of  dissension,  William  assembled  the 
Northern  or  Protestant  States,  among  whom  his  influence 
was  the  most  extensive,  and  who  hitherto  had  stood  the 
brunt  of  the  war  alone.  He  was  fortunate  enough  at  last, 
to  combine  them  into  a  permanent  whole.  On  the  23d  of 
January  1579,  was  signed  the  famous  Union  of  Utrecht,  at 
the  city  whose  name  it  bears,  by  deputies  from  the  provinces 
of  Holland,  Zealand,  Utrecht,  Friesland,  Groningen,  Overyssel, 
and  Gelderland.  It  was  the  fundamental  article  of  the 
Dutch  Republic,  destined  after  to  become  so  conspicuous  an 
agent  in  the  political  transactions  of  Europe.  The  main 
stipulations,  for  the  present,  were,  that  the  Seven  Provinces 
should  join  themselves  in  interest  as  one,  each  individual  still 
retaining  its  own  private  customs ;  that  in  disputes  between 
two,  the  rest  should  interfere  only  as  mediators,  and  that  all 
should  assist  each  with  life  and  fortune  against  every  foreign 
enemy.      Separately,  the  provinces  were  weak ;    and  though 


THE    NETHERLANDS  125 

united  as  firmly  as  the  bundle  of  arrows,  the  badge  and 
emblem  of  their  alliance,  it  might  still  seem  doubtful  if  this 
new  republic  would  survive  its  infancy.  Its  members  had 
not  faltered  in  the  contest,  but  they  doubted  of  the  issue 
themselves.  Their  first  coin  was  stamped  with  the  image 
of  a  ship  struggling  amid  the  waves  without  oars  or  sails ; 
and  the  motto  was,  Incertum  quo  fata  fer  ant. 

It  was  indeed  a  perilous  enterprise  in  which  they  were 
engaged.  A  small  community  of  fishers  and  herdsmen, 
hitherto  unknown  among  nations,  had  come  down  into  the 
lists  against  a  monarch,  before  whom  the  most  powerful 
kingdoms  of  the  world  had  lately  trembled  for  their  liberties. 
With  no  resources  but  their  own  activity,  no  tactics  but  their 
own  despair,  the  Dutch  had  ventured  to  defy  the  commander 
of  the  veterans  of  Charles  v.  and  the  possessor  of  the  Ameri- 
can mines.  The  contest  at  first  view  might  appear  hopeless, 
and  preferable  to  submission,  only,  as  dying  nobly  on  the 
field  of  battle  is  preferable  to  dying  unjustly  on  the  scaffold. 
A  closer  inspection,  however,  showed  the  prospect  in  less 
gloomy  colours.  The  Hollanders  were  poor  ;  but  the  enemy's 
wealth  lay  widely  scattered,  and  bold  adventure  might  snatch 
a  part  of  it.  The  Flemish  exiles,  driven  from  the  peaceful 
occupations  of  the  land,  had  betaken  themselves  in  great 
numbers  to  another  element ;  and  the  rich  fleets  of  Spain 
were  often  captured  by  them.  By  degrees,  too,  the  trade 
which  was  thus  obstructed,  sought  out  other  channels  ;  and 
Holland,  the  asylum  of  the  persecuted  from  every  nation 
(who  were  naturally  the  most  inquisitive  and  enterprising  of 
each  nation),  soon  abounded  in  persons  fitted  for  all  kinds  of 
commerce,  and  ready  to  grasp  at  every  branch  of  it  within 
their  reach.  As  their  maritime  speculations  prospered, 
greater  numbers,  and  more  capital,  became  engaged  in  them  : 
they  at  length  acquired  a  navy,  which  could  venture  to  the 
Indies,  and  strike  at  the  root  of  their  oppressor's  prosperity. 
Philip  had  impoverished  and  ruined  that  part  of  the  Nether- 
lands which  still  adhered  to  him ;  the  Indian  trade  of  his 


126  MISCELLANIES 

Portuguese  subjects  was  snatched  away  before  it  could  reward 
the  labour  of  conquering  Portugal,  and  keeping  it  conquered  ; 
and  Spain,  at  no  time  distinguished  for  commerce,  had  already 
begun  to  sink  into  that  state  of  languor  from  which  it  has 
never  since  awoke.  The  gold  of  Potosi,  in  spite  of  all  his 
efforts,  found  its  way  to  the  markets  of  Amsterdam  :  his  own 
subjects  did  not  manufacture ;  and  the  very  equipment  of 
his  armies  gave  vigour  and  riches  to  the  people  they  were 
sent  to  subdue.  His  forces  seemed  numerous,  but  his  plans 
were  still  more  so.  The  jealousy  entertained  against  his 
father  continued  to  subsist,  though  the  power  which  had 
given  rise  to  it  was  fast  ceasing.  A  kind  of  Catholic  knight- 
errantry  made  Philip  take  part  in  every  religious  quarrel 
which  agitated  Europe  during  that  period  :  his  armies  and 
his  treasures  were  repeatedly  called  from  their  most  necessary 
functions,  to  lend  assistance  to  the  partisans  of  the  League 
in  France.  Ambition  made  him  seize  the  crown  of  Portugal ; 
ambition  combined  with  resentment  and  fanaticism  to  make 
him  grasp  at  that  of  England.  And  each  new  undertaking, 
each  new  acquirement,  while  it  weakened  his  own  strength, 
by  extending  it  over  a  wider  surface,  procured  for  the  Hol- 
landers, openly  or  secretly,  a  new  ally. 

With  William  of  Orange  at  its  head,  therefore,  the  new 
confederacy  did  not  despair.  Philip,  who  knew  the  Prince's 
importance,  attempted  to  detach  him  by  promises  and  gifts  : 
when  this  was  found  to  be  impossible,  he  set  a  price  upon 
his  head.  Superstitious  fervour,  so  justified  and  rewarded, 
was  likely  in  time  to  find  some  wicked  maniac  whom  it  could 
convert  into  an  assassin.  A  first  attempt  failed  ;  a  second 
was  successful.  Balthazar  Gerard  murdered  the  Prince  of 
Orange,  at  Delft  (1584),  being  impelled,  as  he  stated  at 
first,  by  the  Divinity  ;  but  allured  also,  as  he  afterwards  con- 
fessed, by  the  less  elevated  hope  of  Philip's  earthly  recom- 
pense, to  do  the  deed.  Philip's  memory  can  suffer  little  by 
this  imputation  :  the  murderer  of  his  own  son  could  blacken 
his  character  no  farther  in  the  way  of  murder. 


THE    NETHERLANDS  127 

William's  death  was  a  heavy  stroke  to  his  fellow-citizens  ; 
but  in  proportion  as  it  excited  grief  for  the  fate  and  for  the 
loss  of  their  leader,  it  rendered  more  implacable  their  hatred 
of  his  destroyer.  Nor  was  their  situation  yet  so  low  as  Spain 
believed.  The  Duke  of  Anjou,  their  late  governor,  had  left 
them,  indeed,  with  feelings  of  irritation  and  disgust,  which 
were  repaid  him  with  usury  :  but  William's  exertions  had 
kept  the  Prince  of  Parma  busied  in  the  southern  provinces, 
where  much  work  still  remained  for  him.  By  William's 
negotiations,  seconded  by  the  suspicious  measures  of  Philip, 
Elizabeth  of  England,  though  she  rejected  the  sovereignty  of 
the  Netherlands  repeatedly  offered  to  her,  had  been  induced 
to  lend  them  secret  assistance  in  troops  and  money ;  and  she 
now  openly  espoused  their  quarrel.  As  security  for  payment, 
the  States  delivered  up  to  her  the  towns  of  Brille  and  Flush- 
ing, with  the  castle  of  Rammekens ;  and  she  sent  them  an 
army,  with  the  Earl  of  Leicester  to  be  their  governor, 
Leicester  dissatisfied  the  people,  and  was  recalled  :  but  the 
soldiers  continued  ;  and  being  joined  under  Lord  Willoughby, 
with  the  forces  of  the  republic,  were  placed  at  the  disposal 
of  Maurice,  the  late  Prince's  son,  a  young  man  whom  the 
gratitude  of  his  country  had  raised  to  the  station  of  governor, 
and  who  soon  showed  talents  that  would  have  deserved  it 
independently  of  gratitude. 

His  talents,  however,  were  all  required  in  this  emergency  ; 
and  but  for  other  circumstances,  they  would  hardly  have 
sufficed  to  meet  it.  Parma  had  already  secured  Ghent,  Bruges, 
and  lastly  Antwerp,  the  hardest  of  his  conquests,  as  well  as  the 
most  serviceable.  In  the  south,  every  thing  must  soon  have 
been  entirely  at  his  disposal ;  and  Holland  might  then  have 
justly  trembled  before  his  accumulated  force.  But  Philip's 
wars  with  England,  his  Invincible  Armada,  thinned  the  ranks 
of  Parma,  and  dissipated  the  treasures  which  should  have 
maintained  him.  In  addition  to  this,  that  general  was  twice 
despatched  to  France,  to  mingle  in  battles  which  had  no 
bearing  on  his  own   success ;  and  the  Dutch,   now  strongly 


128  MISCELLANIES 

supported  by  Elizabeth,  frequently  undid  in  his  absence  what 
it  had  cost  him  infinite  pains  to  effect  before  his  departure. 
Between  Maurice  and  Philip,  the  task  of  Parma  was  like 
Penelope^s  web  ;  no  skill  or  energy  could  avail  him.  Com- 
pelled to  vibrate  between  France  and  Holland,  he  accom- 
plished nothing  permanent  in  either.  During  his  second 
invasion  of  the  former  country,  he  had  succeeded  in  thwarting 
the  plans  of  Henry  iv.  both  at  Paris  and  Rouen.  These 
were  the  last  of  his  triumphs  :  he  died  at  Arras  next  year 
(1592),  and  the  Spanish  cause  in  Holland  died  along  with 
him. 

Mansfeld,  Ernest,  Fuentes,  his  successors,  impeded  in  their 
efforts  by  the  French  war,  disobeyed  by  ill-appointed  and 
mutinous  troops,  performed  nothing  of  importance.  The 
latter  even  lost  Breda  and  Gertruy  den  burg  to  Prince  Maurice. 
At  length,  in  1598,  Philip  closed  his  restless  reign.  The 
burden  which  had  galled  him  nearly  forty  years,  had  long 
ago  vanquished  even  his  obstinacy ;  and  Albert  of  Austria, 
husband  of  the  Infanta  Isabella,  had,  some  time  previously, 
been  promised  the  sovereignty  of  the  Netherlands,  with 
merely  a  reversion  in  favour  of  Spain,  should  that  princess 
die  childless.  Philip  iii.  punctually  obeyed  the  intentions  of 
his  father ;  but  the  States  of  Holland  listened  in  silence  to 
Albert's  claim.  At  the  head  of  a  great  army,  he  prepared 
to  enforce  it.  Prince  Maurice  met  him  at  Nieuport  (1600); 
and,  with  the  aid  of  Sir  Francis  Vere,  and  the  English 
auxiliaries  led  by  him,  gained  a  complete  and  splendid 
victory.  Albert  wasted  his  remaining  forces  in  the  trenches 
of  Ostend ;  the  town  was  gallantly  maintained  by  Vere  and 
his  followers ;  and  did  not  yield  even  to  the  talents  of 
Spinola,  till  after  it  had  stood  a  siege  of  three  years,  and 
cost  him  above  70,000  men.  Under  the  same  able  general, 
Spain,  to  whom  the  reversion  of  the  Netherlands  was  now 
become  secure,  Isabella  having  no  children,  made  a  last  effort 
far  beyond  its  diminished  strength.  But  new  efforts  yielded 
no  adequate  result :   Philip  was  weary  of  the  contest ;   and, 


THE    NETHERLANDS  129 

by  the  advice  of  Spinola,  he  agreed  to  treat  of  peace.  After 
innumerable  obstructions  and  delays  on  the  part  of  the  Dutch, 
who  had  now  begun  to  reap  profit  from  the  war,  and  princi- 
pally on  the  part  of  Maurice's  faction,  who  hoped  to  make  it 
serviceable  to  his  ambition,  a  truce  of  twelve  years  was  at 
last  concluded,  by  the  mediation  of  France  and  England,  at 
the  Hague,  in  1609,  Spain  acknowledging  the  United  pro- 
vinces as  a  free  republic,  and  granting  them  every  privilege 
which  a  free  country  has  a  right  to  demand.  The  revolt  in 
Bohemia,  which  was  already  breaking  out,  the  appearance  of 
Gustavus  Adolphus,  and  his  victorious  progress  in  Germany, 
soon  gave  full  employment  elsewhere  to  all  the  branches  of 
the  Hapsburg  family.  Combined  with  the  vigorous  adminis- 
tration of  Richelieu,  those  events  extinguished  in  Spain  all 
desire  of  renewing  its  pretensions  to  Holland  :  no  farther 
hostilities  occurred,  and  a  definitive  treaty  was  signed  in 
1647,  and  ratified  at  the  great  peace  of  Westphalia  next 
year,  securing  the  rights  of  the  United  Provinces  in  the 
most  ample  manner,  and  finally  stipulating  the  continuance 
of  peace  and  free  intercourse  between  two  nations,  whose 
strife  had  been  so  lengthened,  so  obstinate,  and  so  bloody. 

After  the  termination  of  this  contest,  which  had  established 
the  freedom  of  seven  provinces,  and  riveted  the  chains  of  ten, 
the  history  of  the  Netherlands  presents  nothing  equally 
remarkable.  What  remains  of  it  may  be  despatched  more 
briefly.  Belgium  continued  quietly  subject  to  Spain,  and 
lost  all  its  commerce  and  enterprise :  Holland  w^ent  on 
rapidly  increasing  in  both.  Cornelius  Houtmann  had  led 
the  way  to  India  in  1599  ;  the  Portuguese  settlements,  then 
subject  to  Spain,  were  in  no  condition  to  resist ;  and  the 
Dutch  by  degrees  acquired  almost  the  whole  of  that  lucrative 
trade.  They  planted  colonies  in  the  spice  islands  of  the 
East ;  they  gained  settlements  in  America  ;  their  naval  power 
continued  to  augment ;  they  gradually  became  the  factors 
and  carriers  of  Europe.  It  is  true,  their  government,  at 
peace  from  without,  was  not  equally  at  peace  from  within  ; 

VOL.   V.  1 


130  MISCELLANIES 

theological  disputes  between  Arminius  and  Goniar,  to  which 
political  feelings  soon  became  conjoined,  had  agitated  the 
people  violently  in  1619,  and  tarnished  the  name  of  Prince 
Maurice  by  his  share  in  the  persecution  of  Grotius,  and  the 
death  of  the  Pensionary  Barnvelt.  A  more  strict  republican 
party  also  afterwards  arose  under  the  auspices  of  the  De 
Witts,  who  had  force  and  dexterity  enough  at  the  death  of 
William  ii.  (1650),  to  procure  the  abolition  of  the  Stadt- 
holdership.  But  those  political  fermentations  slightly  affected 
the  industry  and  success  of  the  great  bodv  of  the  nation. 
The  public  prosperity  was  steadfastly  advancing ;  it  had 
mounted  so  high  in  1652,  that  the  States  did  not  hesitate 
to  throw  down  the  gauntlet  to  England,  though  her  power 
was  at  that  time  wielded  by  the  firm  and  steady  hand  of 
Cromwell. 

Naval  superiority  was  the  subject  of  this  contest ;  com- 
mercial and  political  jealousy  embittered  it.  The  Dutch  had 
given  refuge  and  countenance  to  many  of  the  exiled  royalists ; 
their  admirals  refused  to  pay  to  the  British  the  customary 
acknowledgment  of  superiority  ;  Van  Tromp,  on  the  contrary, 
placed  a  broom  at  his  mast-head,  to  signify  that  he  would 
siveep  the  seas,  and  reign  triumphant  in  them.  But  the 
cannon  of  Blake  soon  levelled  this  rude  emblem,  and  the 
claim  which  it  typified ;  De  Ruyter  and  Van  Tromp  were 
beaten  by  him  off  Portland  in  1653,  after  a  furious  contest 
of  two  days ;  and  next  year,  Van  Tromp  was  shot  through 
the  body,  off  the  coast  of  Holland,  while  gallantly  animating 
his  men  on  the  tlih'd  morning  of  a  battle,  which  his  energy 
alone  had  protracted  so  long.  jMonk  was  the  victor  on  this 
occasion.  The  Dutch  were  glad  to  make  peace,  and  leave 
the  dominion  of  the  ocean  in  the  hands  where  it  was,  and 
has  ever  since  continued. 

A  severe  trial  awaited  the  Dutch  republic  shortly  after- 
wards. In  1668,  Louis  xiv.  profiting  by  the  feebleness  of 
Spain,  had  entered  the  Low  Countries  with  an  army,  which 
bore  down  all  opposition.      He  soon  conquered  Belgium  ;  he 


THE    NETHERLANDS  131 

made  himself  master  of  Franche  Compte,  and  was  fast  ex- 
tending  his  dominions  on  eveiy  side,  when  the  Triple  Alliance, 
concluded  at  the  Hague  in  1669,  arrested  his  ambitious 
career.  Irritated  by  the  share  which  Holland  had  taken  in 
this  transaction,  Louis  made  great  preparations  for  revenge. 
The  profligate  ministry  of  our  Charles  ii,  was  hired  to  sup- 
port his  views;  and  in  1672,  he  crossed  the  Rhine  at  the 
head  of  an  immense  army.  Basely  deserted  by  their  natural 
ally,  agitated  by  internal  factions,  the  Dutch  had  nothing 
but  a  few  undisciplined  troops,  and  a  general  scarcely  arrived 
at  manhood,  wherewith  to  oppose  the  progress  of  130,000 
veterans,  led  on  by  Conde,  Turenne,  and  Vauban.  The  issue 
could  scarce  be  doubtful.  Louis  overran  the  country  in  a  few 
weeks ;  and  Amsterdam  was  soon  the  last  asylum  of  Dutch 
liberty.  The  De  Witts  proposed  surrendering,  but  the  States, 
with  their  young  general,  William,  Prince  of  Orange,  at  their 
head,  determined  on  a  braver  expedient.^  Preferring  inde- 
pendence to  every  other  advantage,  they  opened  the  sluices  of 
their  sea-dykes ;  and  Amsterdam  once  more  became  an  island 
of  the  ocean,  from  which  it  had  been  gained.  The  king 
returned  into  France ;  his  generals  retired  out  of  Holland  ; 
and  before  the  triumphal  arch  at  the  gate  of  St.  Denis,  in 
honour  of  his  conquest^  was  completed,  Louis  possessed  no 
foot  of  ground  within  the  conquered  territories.  Far  from 
yielding,  the  Dutch  in  their  turn  became  aggressors  ;  and 
their  young  prince,  now  appointed  Stadtholder,  ever  hence- 
forth continued  the  unwearied  and  successful  adversary  of  all 
the  covetous  schemes  of  Louis.  By  his  efforts  the  present 
war  was  ended  in  1679  ;  and  when  he  mounted  the  throne 
of  England,  his  augmented  power  still  thwarted  the  increas- 
ing projects  of  France.  In  1697,  the  treaty  of  Ryswick  con- 
cluded a  new  war  of  eight  years, — in  the  conduct  of  which 

^  It  is  mournful  to  add,  that  this  heroism  of  the  Dutch  was  tarnished  by  the 
murder  of  Cornehus  De  Witt,  and  of  his  brother  John,  one  of  the  greatest 
characters  whom  Holland  or  Europe  has  ever  produced.  They  were  massacred 
by  the  populace  at  the  Hague  in  the  most  brutal  and  barbarous  manner. 


132  MISCELLANIES 

he  had  been  indefatigable,  in  the  result  of  which  he  was 
superior ;  and  before  his  death,  he  had  prepared  the  materials 
of  that  coalition  which,  under  Marlborough  and  Prince 
Eugene,  brought  Louis  to  the  brink  of  ruin. 

The  peace  of  Utrecht  saved  Louis  from  absolute  destruc- 
tion, and  consigned  Belgium  to  the  throne  of  Austria,  that 
of  Spain  being  now  filled  by  a  Bourbon.  The  Dutch  had 
exerted  themselves  vigorously  in  all  those  quarrels  ;  but  from 
this  period  their  internal  prosperity  began  to  languish,  their 
political  importance  gradually  to  lessen.  The  English  had 
acquired  their  arts  and  manufactures,  and  almost  entirely 
supplanted  their  East  India  commerce.  The  American 
colonies,  added  to  this,  gave  the  English  navy  an  irresistible 
preponderance.  Holland  still  continued  diligent  and  con- 
tented ;  but  the  rise  of  neighbouring  nations  had  eclipsed  its 
power.  About  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  it  was  farther 
threatened  with  the  calamities  of  foreign  invasion.  When 
Maria  Theresa's  right  to  the  imperial  throne  was  disputed  in 
1740,  the  Dutch  had  taken  up  her  side ;  the  French  that  of 
the  Elector  of  Bavaria.  During  the  contest,  Louis  xv.  had 
penetrated  into  the  Netherlands  :  and  the  Marechal  de  Saxe 
had  conquered  Belgium  for  him.  In  1748,  the  same  general 
made  an  attack  on  Holland.  Bergen-op-Zoom  had  fallen, 
Maestricht  was  falling ;  and  the  Dutch  barrier  must  have 
been  forced,  had  not  the  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  which 
restored  Belgium  to  Austria,  while  it  secured  the  deliverance 
of  Holland,  put  a  stop  to  hostilities. 

The  Dutch  took  no  part  in  the  seven-years''  war.  A 
long  period  of  outward  tranquillity  was  only  disturbed  by 
contests  between  the  people  and  the  Stadtholder,  whose  office 
had  been  declared  hereditary  in  the  Orange  family  in  the 
year  1747.  The  French  Revolution,  and  the  victories  of 
Dumourier,  took  Belgium  from  Austria  in  1792;  it  was 
recovered  next  summer,  but  the  recovery  was  only  for  a  year, 
and  confirmed  the  victors  in  their  conquest.  Those  apostles 
of  change  were  eagerly  welcomed  by  the  Dutch  people  soon 


THE    NETHERLANDS 


133 


after.  But  the  latter  had  quickly  reason  to  repent  of  this 
predilection.  The  French  oppressed  Holland  with  every 
species  of  tyranny  ;  even  Louis  Buonaparte,  for  whom  it  had 
been  erected  into  a  kingdom,  gave  it  up  in  despair.  Various 
attempts  to  relieve  it  failed,  till  at  last,  in  1814,  the  suc- 
cesses of  the  allied  sovereigns  put  the  Low  Countries  into 
their  hands.  The  British  cabinet  accomplished  its  often 
projected  scheme  ;  Belgium  was  united  with  the  seven  pro- 
vinces into  the  Kingdom  of  the  Netherlands  ;  and  the  Prince 
of  Orange,  who  had  taken  refuge  in  England,  now  ascended 
the  throne,  where  he  has  since  continued  undisturbed. 

The  kingdom  thus  newly  formed  extends  over  a  space  of 
about  24,000  British  square  miles,  13,400  of  them  being 
Belgic  territory,  the  rest  Dutch  ;  and  contains  a  population 
of  5,226,000  inhabitants,  which  (excluding  the  military), 
are  distributed  among  the  various  provinces  as  follows  : — 


Holland, 

750,000 

East  Flanders, 

002,000 

AVest  Flanders,     . 

521,000 

Hainaut, 

431,000 

South  Brabant,     . 

366,000 

Liege, 

855,000 

Lhnburg-, 

393,000 

North  Brabant,     . 

252,000 

Antwerp, 

250,000 

Gelderland, 

244,000 

Luxemburg, 

220,000 

Friesland, 

177,000 

Namur, 

157,000 

Overyssel, 

148,000 

Groningen, 

136,000 

Zealand, 

112,000 

Utrecht, 

108,000 

Dronthe, 

47,000 

The  resources  of  the  Netherlands,  so  long  in  a  declining 
condition,  have  not  yet  had  time  to  recover  perceptibly. 
The  annual  revenue  scarcelv  exceeds  seven  millions  sterlins; ; 
and  the  expenditure  fully  equals  it.      The  navy,  which  could 


134  MISCELLANIES 

once  cope  with  that  of  England,  has  now  shrunk  into  12 
ships  of  the  line,  with  24  frigates,  and  costs  only  500,000/. 
a  year.  An  additional  2,000,000/.  of  the  national  income 
is  devoted  to  support  a  military  establishment  of  50,000 
regular  troops ;  the  services  of  religion,  all  paid  from  the 
public  treasury,  require  270,000/. ;  and  a  government  debt 
of  140,000,000/.  consumes  nearly  all  the  rest.  The  inter- 
est of  the  latter  is  moderate,  or  the  country  could  not  bear 
it :  at  2  or  2^  per  cent,  its  amount  does  not  reach  far  be- 
yond 3,ooo,o5o/. 

Fifty  thousand  soldiers  may  seem  a  force  disproportionate 
to  the  means  of  so  small  a  state.  They  are  rendered  neces- 
sary, however,  by  the  long  and  defenceless  frontier  of  the 
kingdom,  and  by  the  number  of  colonies  yet  subject  to  it  in 
various  quarters  of  the  world.  None  of  those  settlements  is 
at  present  very  flourishing  or  important  :  some  are  in  a  state 
of  permanent  decay.  In  Asia,  there  are  Java,  with  the  lesser 
governments  of  Amboyna,  Tern  ate,  Malacca,  Macassar,  and 
some  factories  on  the  coasts  of  Coromandel  and  Persia ;  in 
Africa,  thirteen  small  forts  on  the  Guinea  coast ;  in  the 
West  Indies,  Surinam  on  the  mainland ;  Cura^oa,  St.  Eusta- 
tius,  and  St.  Martin.  Demerara,  Essequibo,  and  Berbice, 
still  permitted  to  trade  with  their  mother  country,  are  now 
under  the  dominion  of  Great  Britain. 

The  political  machinery  by  which  those  resources  are 
managed,  the  form  of  government  in  the  Netherlands,  bears 
a  close  resemblance  to  that  of  Britain.  A  king  possessed 
of  all  the  executive  authority ;  two  houses  of  parliament 
possessed  of  all  the  legislative ;  the  sovereign's  inviolability ; 
the  responsibility  of  his  ministers, — sufficiently  point  out  the 
model  according  to  which  the  whole  has  been  constructed. 
At  the  same  time,  several  weighty  distinctions  occur ;  so 
weighty,  indeed,  as  to  render  this  general  similarity  more 
formal  than  substantial.  One  leadincp  distinction  is  the 
existence  of  provincial  States,  whose  office  it  is  to  superintend 
the   execution    of   the    laws    in    their    several    districts,    the 


THE    NETHERLANDS  135 

expenditure  of  local  magistrates,  of  religious  functionaries ; 
to  take  charge  of  the  public  works, — and,  what  is  more 
important  than  all,  to  elect  the  members  of  the  lower  house 
of  Parliament,  a  third  of  whom  are  thus  changed  annually ; 
the  States  themselves  being  filled  up  by  the  people.  This 
lower  house  of  Parliament,  so  differently  nominated,  differs 
equally  from  our  House  of  Commons  in  its  functions  and 
dignity.  The  members  accept  a  petty  salary,  (220/.) ;  they 
can  originate  no  motion ;  their  number  is  small ;  ^  their 
influence  comparatively  inconsiderable.  The  upper  house  is 
still  more  strongly  contrasted  with  our  House  of  Lords. 
The  Belgic  Peers  (between  40  and  60  in  number)  are  not 
hereditary ;  they  are  nominated  by  the  king  for  life ;  can 
bring  in  no  bill  on  their  own  authority  any  more  than  the 
Commons ;  and,  like  them,  receive  a  paltry  wage  (270/.). 

The  crown  being  thus  invested  with  the  power  of  regulating 
the  deliberations  of  its  poor  and  feeble  Parliament,  and 
excluding  all  importunate  discussions,  the  popular  branch  of 
the  Belgic  government  has  but  a  slender  influence  compared 
with  that  of  the  British :  the  mode  of  its  election,  the 
character  and  rank  of  its  members,  must  alike  conspire  to 
render  its  limitation  of  the  sovereign's  proceedings  feeble  at 
any  time ;  altogether  ineffectual  if  the  sovereign  were  enter- 
prising and  ambitious  of  arbitrary  power.  The  Orange 
family,  however,  shows  no  such  sinister  desire ;  a  system  of 
equal  laws  is  administered  by  judges  appointed  ad  vitam  aid 
culpam ;  the  taxes  are  not  more  heavy  than  is  seen  to  be 
indispensably  necessary ;  the  press  is  free ;  and  the  people 
feel  no  inclination  to  repine  at  their  condition. 

They  are  remarkable,  indeed,  for  their  quietism  in  regard 
to  politics ;    and    a   similar   principle   now    extends    also    to 

^  It  is  no  only  ;  55  are  chosen  from  the  northern  province,  as  many  from  the 
southern — in  the  following  proportions  :  North  Brabant  7,  Gelderland  6,  Holland 
22,  Zealand  3,  Utrecht  3,  Friesland  5,  Overyssel  4,  Groningen  4,  Dronthe  i, 
South  Brabant  8,  Limburg  4,  Liege  6,  East  Flanders  10,  West  Flanders  8, 
Hainaut  8,  Namur  2,  Antwerp  5,  Luxemburg  4. 


136  MISCELLANIES 

religion.  In  the  Netherlands,  there  is,  properly  speaking, 
no  established  religion,  the  followers  of  every  sect  being 
eligible  to  all  offices  in  the  state,  and  the  preachers  of  every 
sect  not  only  tolerated,  but  paid  by  the  government  funds. 
In  the  northern  provinces,  Calvinism  is  the  prevailing  doctrine  : 
and  the  Court  is  of  the  same  persuasion.  The  Catholic  creed 
prevails  in  the  southern  provinces ;  in  the  whole  kingdom, 
its  followers  outnumber  the  Protestants  in  more  than  the 
proportion  of  two  to  one.  But  the  wealth  of  either  Church 
is  small,  the  salary  of  a  clergyman  seldom  amounting  to 
200^.,  frequently  bordering  on  70/.  :  and  the  Government, 
extending  its  protection  to  all  ministers  of  religion  indis- 
criminately, is  enabled  to  secure  the  adherence,  and  profit  by 
the  influence  of  all. 

In  regard  to  education,  there  is  a  rather  liberal  provision 
in  the  Netherlands.  Parish  schools  have  long  been  estab- 
lished in  Holland,  and  an  additional  arrangement  renders 
them  more  effective  than  elsewhere.  There  is  a  classification 
introduced  among  the  schoolmasters  of  Holland.  Four  ranks 
are  settled  by  law ;  no  one  is  allowed  to  begin  teaching  till 
he  has  enrolled  himself  in  one  of  those  ranks ;  and  two 
special  commissions  exist  in  each  province  for  examining  the 
qualifications  of  an  applicant,  and  issuing  his  licence  to  give 
instruction  in  the  prescribed  branches,  if  his  trial  prove 
satisfactory.  In  Belgium,  without  any  parochial  establish- 
ment, a  competent  school-master  is  yet  generally  to  be  found 
in  every  village.  The  higher  departments  of  learning,  the 
four  languages  as  they  are  called,  Latin,  French,  German, 
English,  with  the  elements  of  mathematics,  rhetoric,  and 
some  minor  accomplishments,  are  taught  in  the  royal  schools 
in  most  of  the  principal  towns.  There  is  a  military  academy 
at  Dort,  a  naval  one  at  Sluys ;  and  the  religious  bodies  have 
in  many  cases  seminaries  of  their  own.  To  complete  the 
system,  there  are  six  universities ;  that  of  Leyden,  that  of 
Utrecht,  the  smaller  though  older  one  of  Groningen,  that  of 
Louvain,  r^-opened  in   1816  by  a  i-oyal  charter,  which  also 


THE    NETHERLANDS  137 

created  two  new  ones,  that  of  Ghent  and  that  of  Liege. 
Some  of  those  estabhshments  were  once  flourishing  and 
renowned ;  they  are  now  but  poorly  attended.  The  pro- 
fessors have  participated  imperfectly  in  the  modern  progress 
of  science  ;  their  lectures  are  monotonous,  and  still  delivered 
in  Latin. 

The  Netherlands,  with  all  its  apparatus  for  education,  is 
not  an  intellectual  country.  It  has  no  national  literature 
— none  current  among  its  people,  or  at  all  known  to  foreigners. 
The  Dutch  language  is  unfavourable  to  this  purpose  ;  and  the 
Flemish,  a  kindred  dialect  of  the  German,  and  differing  from 
the  former  chiefly  in  accent,  is  not  more  so.  Vondel  is  almost 
the  only  native  poet  of  Holland.  He  lived  towards  the  end 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  in  the  humble  capacity  of  a  tailor, 
and  wrote  tragedies,  which,  in  spite  of  their  rude  barbarous 
extravagance,  are  said  to  display  gleams  of  a  high  dramatic 
genius.  This  mental  poverty,  however,  proceeds  from  no 
want  of  faculties  in  the  people.  The  telescope  and  the  art 
of  printing  are  Dutch  inventions.  In  former  times,  Holland, 
if  it  had  no  national  literature,  was  inferior  to  few  countries 
in  any  of  those  departments  which  depend  on  the  exercise  of 
a  just  intellect,  and  patient  observation.  Erasmus  and 
Grotius  in  moral  science,  Huyghens,  Boerhaave,  Swammer- 
dam,  Leuwenhoek,  in  natural,  are  universally  known.  The 
intellectual  fame  of  the  southern  provinces,  again,  rests  chiefly 
on  their  painters.  It  is  unnecessary  to  do  more  than  mention 
the  names  of  Rubens,  Van  Dyck,  Rembrandt.  Belgium  has 
produced  authors  too,  though  in  a  smaller  number.  Lipsius, 
well  known  to  classical  scholars,  was  a  native  of  Brussels. 
Froissart  and  Philip  de  Commines  were  both  AValloons,  though 
their  birth-places  are  now  included  in  France.  At  present, 
the  Netherlands  are  not  without  many  men  of  cultivated 
understandings,  who  are  useful  and  admired  at  home  ;  but 
their  fame  hardly  extends  to  other  countries ;  and  the  great 
Lights  of  Europe  must  all  be  sought  for  elsewhere. 

See  Watson's  Histories  of  Philip  II.  and  of  Philip  III.  ; 


138  MISCELLANIES 

Schiller's  eloquent  and  philosophical  fragment,  the  Geschichte 
des  AhfaUs  der  vereinigten  Nicderlande -,  Voltaire's  Siecles  de 
Louis  XIV.  et  de  Loitis  XV. ;  RaynalFs  Histoire  du  Stadt- 
liouderat.  See  also  IVIitcheirs  Travels  in  Belgium ;  Boyce's 
Belgian  Traveller  \  Reichard's  Guide  des  Voyageurs,  ^  Pays 
Bas. 


WILLIAM   PITT,   EARL   OF   CHATHAM^ 

WiLLiAJi  Pi'iT,  Earl  of  Chatham,  the  second  son  of  Robert 
Pitt,  Esq.  of  Boconnock,  in  the  county  of  Cornwall,  was  born 
on  the  15th  of  November  1708,  The  family  was  originally 
of  Blandford  in  Dorsetshire ;  Christopher  Pitt,  the  translator 
of  Vida  and  Virgil,  and  Thomas  Pitt,  governor  of  Madras  in 
the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  were  both  of  this  place.  The 
latter  was  Chatham's  grandfather ;  and  likewise  remarkable 
as  having  purchased,  during  his  residence  in  the  east,  the 
jewel  known  by  the  name  of  the  Pitt  diamond^  which  weighed 
127  carats,  and  was  afterwards  sold  by  him  to  the  King  of 
France  for  135,000/,  having  originally  cost  20,400Z.  It 
may  also  be  worthy  of  mention,  that,  by  the  wife  of  this 
gentleman,  Chatham  was  descended  from  the  Regent  Murray, 
natural  son  ef  James  v,  of  Scotland. 

Of  Chatham*'s  youth  and  early  habits  little  is  recorded, 
except  that  he  studied  at  Eton  as  a  foundation-scholar,  was 
removed  to  Trinity  College,  Oxford,  in  1726,  and  left  the 
University  without  taking  any  degree.  His  proficiency  in 
the  attainments  usually  acquired  there  may,  however,  be 
inferred  from  the  circumstance,  that  some  Latin  verses  of  his 
were  judged  fit  to  appear  in  the  collection  printed  by  that 
learned  body  on  the  death  of  George  i. ;  and  still  more, 
certainly,  from  the  predilection  for  classical  pursuits  Avhich 
he  displayed  in  after  life,  and  the  decidedly  classical  tincture 
which  pervades  all  his  compositions.  Demosthenes  is  said  to 
have  been  so  great  a  favourite  with  him,  that  he  repeatedly 
translated  certain  of  his  orations  into  English, 

^  Edinburgh  Encyclopadia,  vol.  xvi. 


140  MISCELLANIES 

The  immediate  cause  of  his  removal  from  Oxford  was  a 
hereditary  gout,  which  had  already  attacked  him  at  Eton  in 
his  sixteenth  year.  He  sought  to  expel  the  disorder  by 
travelling ;  he  made  the  tour  of  France,  and  visited  Italy, 
but  without  realising  his  purpose  ;  his  gout  still  adhered  to 
him,  it  preyed  upon  his  constitution  throughout  life,  and 
never  left  him  till  it  gained  the  mastery.  To  an  ordinary 
mind  this  malady  would  have  proved  a  severe  misfortune : 
Pitt  found  means  to  convert  it  into  almost  an  advantage. 
Excluded  by  it  from  the  gaieties  and  dissipations  of  common 
life,  he  applied  himself  the  more  earnestly  to  the  acquisition 
of  knowledge  ;  he  read,  and  wrote,  and  studied,  endeavouring 
by  every  method  in  his  power  to  cultivate  those  faculties, 
which  were  one  day  to  become  the  ornament  of  his  age  and 
nation. 

In  the  mean  time,  however,  his  immediate  prospects  were 
by  no  means  magnificent.  He  had  lost  his  father  in  1727  ; 
a  scanty  fortune  and  a  sickly  frame  made  him  anxious  for 
some  fixed  appointment,  and  he  was  glad  to  accept  a  com- 
mission of  cornet  in  the  Blues,  which  some  of  his  friends  had 
interest  enough  to  procure  for  him.  But  his  inclinations 
pointed  to  a  different  scene.  The  leisure  which  his  duties 
left  him  was  still  sedulously  consecrated  to  the  improvement 
of  his  mind  ;  and  he  longed  to  employ  in  public  life  those 
talents  he  had  been  so  careful  to  perfect.  In  1735,  this 
opportunity  was  granted  him  ;  he  was  that  year  returned 
member  for  Old  Sarum,  to  serve  in  the  ninth  parliament  of 
Great  Britain.  The  appearance  he  made  there  was  such  as 
to  justify  all  his  hopes,  and  to  awaken  hopes  still  more 
glorious.  His  eloquence  soon  became  the  pride  of  his  friends 
and  the  terror  of  all  that  opposed  him.  A  fine  voice  and 
figure  prepossessed  the  hearers  in  his  ftivour ;  and  the  senti- 
ments and  opinions  Avhich  he  uttered  bespoke  a  great  and 
noble  mind.  There  was  in  him  a  stern  inexpiable  contempt 
for  meanness  in  whatever  shape ;  a  fervid  enthusiasm  for  the 
acuse  of  freedom,  for  the  honour  of  his  country,  for  all  good 


WILLIAM   PITT,   EARL   OF   CHATHAM     141 

and  worthy  things ;  the  whole  tempered  and  matured  by  a 
strong  commanding  intellect,  the  force  and  justness  of  which 
might  have  seemed  scarcely  compatible  with  so  much  youthful 
ardour.  His  acquired  advantages  gave  full  scope  to  those 
gifts  of  nature.  The  style  he  employed  was  chaste,  regular, 
and  argumentative,  yet  both  splendid  and  impassioned ;  and 
the  energetic  graces  of  his  delivery  gave  new  power  to  what 
he  spoke.  When  warmed  with  his  subject,  when  pouring 
forth  his  own  glowing  feelings  and  emphatic  convictions,  in 
language  as  glowing  and  emphatic,  the  attitude  of  conscious 
strength  which  he  assumed,  his  lofty  looks,  his  indignant 
glance,  would  dismay  the  stoutest  and  most  subtle  of  his 
opponents ;  and  the  veterans  of  parliament  have  stood 
abashed  in  the  presence  of  a  youth.  Sir  Robert  Walpole, 
in  his  pride  of  place,  with  all  the  dexterity  of  ministerial 
management  which  a  life  had  been  spent  in  acquiring,  was 
awed  before  this  champion  of  simple  virtue.  Detected  in  his 
sophistries,  stigmatised  for  his  corruptions,  baffled  in  his 
attempts  at  retaliation  or  defence,  this  intriguing  statesman 
came  at  length  to  dread,  as  the  signal  of  defeat,  the  very 
sound  of  his  adversary's  voice.  "  Let  us  before  all  things," 
said  he,  "  try  to  muzzle  this  terrible  cornet  of  horse." 

But  the  enterprise  was  ineffectual,  the  cornet  was  not  to 
be  "  muzzled ""  ;  and  if  Sir  Robert  still  believed  in  his  favourite 
maxim,  that  every  man  has  his  pi-ice^  it  must  have  mortified 
him  to  discover  that  the  price  of  Pitt  was  not  within  the 
compass  of  his  gift.  Unable  to  gain  over,  he  took  the 
imperfect  satisfaction  of  alienating  still  farther.  Pitt  was 
deprived  of  his  commission  in  the  army ;  and  this  stroke  of 
official  severity,  while  it  confirmed  him  in  his  opposition, 
rendered  him  still  dearer  to  the  public,  whose  rights  he  was 
asserting;.  It  strengthened  him  also  in  the  favour  of  Frederick 
Prince  of  Wales,  the  centre  at  that  period  of  all  who  aimed 
at  a  change  of  men  and  measures.  Pitt  was  appointed 
groom  of  the  bed-chamber  to  the  prince,  in  the  year  1737. 
He   continued    in    the    successive    sessions    of  parliament,   to 


U2  MISCELLANIES 

support  the  same  liberal  principles  which  he  had  at  first 
adopted;  the  increase  of  years  increasing  his  experience  in 
the  principles  of  policy  and  government,  without  seeming  to 
abate  the  ardour  of  his  zeal.  He  distinguished  himself  by 
his  animated  hostility  to  the  Spanish  Convention,  in  1738  ;^ 
and  generally  by  his  aversion  to  every  measure  that  appeared 
likely  to  injure  the  rights  of  the  subject,  or  the  lasting 
interests  of  the  country.  His  speeches  contributed  not  *a 
little  to  the  downfall  of  Sir  Robert  Walpole.  One  of  his 
most  brilliant  displays  is  preserved  in  the  reported  debate  on 
a  motion  for  an  inquiry  into  the  last  ten  years  of  that 
statesman's  administration.  The  motion,  though  carried  in 
the  House  of  Commons,  was  defeated  of  its  object  by  a 
ministerial  manoeuvre ;  but  it  sealed  the  ruin  of  the  Walpole 
party,  and  yet  affords  a  striking  indication  of  the  powers  of 
this  young,  and  ardent,  and  enlightened  politician. 

The  Pelhams,  who  succeeded  Walpole,  wishing  to  secure 
the  co-operation  of  Pitt,  attempted  to  get  him  brought  into 
office;  but  a  formidable  obstacle  stood  in  the  way.  The 
king  was  offended  at  Pitt  for  joining  with  the  heir  apparent 
to  oppose  the  favourite  minister  and  his  Hanoverian  politics  ; 
he  refused  to  consent  to  his  admission.  The  Pelhams  resigned 
in  consequence  ;  but  were  shortly  after  reinstated,  and  brought 
Pitt  along  with  them,  as  vice-treasurer  of  Ireland,  in  1746. 
This  post  was  soon  converted  into  that  of  treasurer,  and  then 
exchanged  for  the  place  of  privy-counsellor,  and  paymaster- 
general  of  the  forces.  His  conduct  in  this  latter  situation 
served  to  display  the  disinterested  integrity  of  his  nature ; 
he  disdained  to  retain  any  portion  of  the  public  money  in  his 
hands  to  profit  by  its  interest,  or  by  speculating  with  it  in 
the  funds,  though  his  predecessors  had  acted  thus  without 
scruple;  he  even  refused  the  usual  perquisites  of  his  office, 
when  they  seemed  unmerited   by  the  duties  of  it.      Such  a 

^  It  was  in  the  course  of  this  debate  that  he  pronounced  his  spirited  reply  to 
Horatio  Walpole's  sneers  against  his  youth  and  declamatory  manner.  Trans- 
lated into  the  language  of  Dr.  Johnson,  this  piece  is  familiar  to  every  reader. 


WILLIAM   PITT,   EARL   OF   CHATHAM     143 

manner  of  proceeding  seemed  to  exemplify  in  practice  the 
high  principles  which  he  had  jirofessed  as  an  orator;  it 
sanctioned  and  augmented  the  favour,  in  which  he  had  long 
stood  over  all  the  empire.  With  the  king  it  was  less 
successful :  George  ii.  still  viewed  Pitt  with  a  jealous  eye, 
and  Pitt  was  still  inflexible  in  maintaining  what  he  thought 
the  true  advantage  of  Britain  against  all  the  frowns  of  royalty 
and  the  intrigues  of  court.  In  the  beginning  of  the  seven 
years  war,  when  his  majesty  returned  from  the  Continent, 
and  presented  the  subsidiary  treaties  he  had  made  with  Hesse 
Cassel  and  Prussia,  for  the  defence  of  his  beloved  Hanover, 
Pitt  did  not  hesitate  to  speak  in  parliament  against  their 
ratification.  He  was,  in  consequence,  dismissed  from  office ; 
and  Mr.  Legge,  who  had  partaken  in  his  fault,  partook  also 
in  his  punishment.      This  was  in  1755. 

Pitt  was  now  again  a  private  man,  but  surrounded  with  a 
blaze  of  reputation,  which  few  ministers  would  not  have 
envied.  The  long  and  brave  struggle  he  had  made  in 
defence  of  their  privileges  endeared  him  to  the  people ;  his 
virtue,  proved  alike  in  place  and  out  of  it,  gave  a  new  and 
more  steady  lustre  to  the  splendour  which  his  high  talents 
shed  around  him.  In  1744,  the  Duchess  of  Marlborough 
had  left  him  a  legacy  of  10,000^.,  "upon  account,"  as  her 
testament  expressed  it,  "  of  his  merit  in  the  noble  defence  he 
has  made  for  the  support  of  the  laws  of  England,  and  to 
prevent  the  ruin  of  his  country."  Eleven  years  had  now 
elapsed  since  the  date  of  this  splendid  testimonial ;  nine  of 
which  had  been  spent  in  office,  amid  temptations  such  as 
have  ruined  the  fame  of  many  a  patriot,  yet  still  his  popu- 
larity had  continued  to  augment ;  and  his  late  disfavour  at 
court,  by  investing  him  with  something  of  the  grace  of  a 
martyr,  had  raised  it  to  a  higher  pitch  than  ever.  Men 
called  him  the  Great  Commoner ;  he  was  listened  to  by  the 
nation  as  its  guardian  and  father. 

Happy  in  these  circumstances  of  his  public  situation,  Pitt 
was  also   happy  in   his    domestic    circle.      In    1754   he   had 


144  MISCELLANIES 

married  Hester,  only  daughter  of  Richard  Grenville,  Esq. 
and  of  the  Countess  of  Temple — a  lady  whose  accomplish- 
ments, and  graces,  and  affection,  formed  a  permanent  solace 
to  him  throughout  the  remainder  of  his  life.  In  a  short 
time,  also,  he  had  reason  to  applaud  the  wisdom  of  his  own 
anticipations,  and  to  pity  the  incapacity  of  the  actual 
ministers.  He  spoke  loudly  against  the  policy  of  sending 
English  money  to  defend  Hanover  by  subsidies ;  he  repro- 
bated the  idea  of  introducing  Hanoverian  soldiers  to  defend 
England.  The  course  of  events  strongly  seconded  his  reason- 
ing :  the  beginning  of  the  seven  years  war  was  marked  to 
Britain  by  nothing  but  disasters ;  the  nation  murmured, 
addresses  and  petitions  called  vehemently  for  a  change,  and 
the  universal  voice  named  Pitt  as  the  man.  His  majesty 
was  again  obliged  to  treat  with  this  discarded  servant :  a  new 
ministry  was  formed  in  1756,  in  which  Pitt  took  the  post  of 
secretary  of  state,  his  friend  Mr.  Legge  being  chancellor  of 
the  exchequer.  His  majesty's  repugnance  and  difficulties 
are  strongly  marked  by  the  fact,  that  having  a  second 
time  dismissed  Pitt,  for  his  inflexible  opposition  to  the 
Duke  of  Cumberland  as  general  of  the  German  war,  he  was 
again  forced  by  the  public  opinion  to  recall  him,  with  the 
most  ample  concessions.  Pitt  resumed  his  place  of  secretary 
on  the  29th  of  June  1757,  and  formed  a  cabinet  according 
to  his  own  choice.  His  personal  influence,  of  course,  was  the 
predominating ;  he  was  unfettered  by  conflicting  colleagues ; 
even  the  king's  prepossessions  began  to  abate.  Pitt,  in  their 
preliminary  interview,  had  said  to  him,  "  Sire,  give  me  your 
confidence,  and  I  will  deserve  it."  His  majesty  had  answered, 
"  Deserve  it,  and  you  shall  have  it " ;  there  was  at  least, 
henceforth,  no  visible  discordance  between  them. 

It  was  now  that  the  genius  of  Pitt  shone  forth  with 
unclouded  splendour  in  the  eyes  of  all  Europe.  Uncon- 
strained in  his  movements,  the  vigour  of  his  own  mind 
seemed  to  pervade  every  department  of  the  public  service ; 
its  influence    was  soon  felt  in    the  remotest  corners   of   the 


WILLIAM   PITT,   EARL   OF   CHATHAM     145 

globe.  He  found  the  nation  depressed  and  degraded ;  in 
three  years,  he  raised  it  to  a  height  of  greatness  which  it 
had  never  before  attained.  Devoting  himself  wholly  to  the 
duties  of  his  office,  entirely  avoiding  the  pageantry  of  levees 
and  public  exhibitions,  he  bent  himself  with  all  his  might  to 
mature  the  plans  he  had  formed  for  the  national  advantage, 
and  to  discover  fit  instruments  for  realising  them.  The 
extent  of  his  information,  the  quickness  of  his  understanding, 
enabled  him  at  once  to  discover  where  the  enemy  was  most 
assailable ;  his  projects,  magnificent  as  the  mind  that  con- 
ceived them,  were  examined  and  provided  for  with  the  most 
scrupulous  accuracy,  and  put  in  execution  with  an  energy 
that  ensured  success.  The  people  were  averse  to  any  inter- 
ference in  the  continental  war  :  Pitt  objected  less  to  the  fact 
of  interference,  than  to  the  actual  manner  of  it.  Dismiss- 
ing the  Duke  of  Cumberland  from  the  command  of  the 
army,  to  which  the  convention  at  Kloster-sieben  had  shown 
too  well  that  he  was  unequal,  he  assisted  Frederick  of 
Prussia  by  subsidies,  and  gave  the  English  troops  to  be  led 
by  Ferdinand  of  Brunswick.  Some  outcry  was  raised  against 
him  at  first ;  it  was  thought  he  should  have  shaken  off 
the  interest  of  Hanover  entirely ;  but  he  underwent  these 
censures,  persevered  in  his  measures,  and  'conquered  America 
in  Germany,"*  as  he  predicted.  The  French  being  occupied 
in  these  continental  expeditions,  and  Frederick  assisted  by 
British  gold  to  make  head  against  them,  their  colonies  and 
distant  possessions  were  left  ill  guarded,  and  fell  an  easy  prey 
to  the  vigorous  attacks  of  the  English.  Before  1760  they 
had  lost  nearly  all  their  foreign  settlements ;  they  were 
banished  from  Africa  and  Asia,  and  the  Canadas  had  yielded 
to  the  heroism  of  Wolfe  :  the  navy  of  France  had  scarcely  an 
existence ;  her  own  coasts  were  continually  insulted,  and  her 
people  kept  in  constant  terror  of  invasion.  The  talents  and 
diligence  of  Pitt,  the  skill  with  which  he  administered  the 
resources  of  Britain  had  raised  her  to  be  the  arbitress  of 
Europe. 

VOL.   V.  K 


146  MISCELLANIES 

But  all  his  triumphs  abroad  were  insufficient  to  secure 
him  against  the  vicissitudes  of  faction  at  home.  In  1760 
the  king  died,  and  the  dependants  of  his  successor  George  iii. 
began  to  look  with  eagerness  for  a  change.  It  is  hinted  also, 
that  Pitt  was  not  too  agreeable  to  some  of  his  colleagues. 
The  great  and  uniform  success  of  all  his  enterprises  had 
exalted  his  reputation  to  a  height,  which  it  was  painful  for 
a  competitor  to  contemplate ;  and  his  habit  of  seeing  every 
obstacle  give  way  to  the  commanding  effort  of  his  will,  had 
strengthened  in  him  that  rigidness  of  manner,  that  imposing 
inflexibility  of  purpose,  which  his  friends  might  dignify  as 
the  natural  expression  of  a  lofty  and  self-dependent  mind, 
but  which  his  enemies  did  not  fail  to  brand  with  the  name 
of  arrogance,  or  domineering  ambition.  The  court  sought  a 
cause  of  quarrel  with  him  ;  and  one  was  not  long  in  occurring. 
By  the  accuracy  of  his  intelligence,  he  had  discovered  the  exist- 
ence of  that  jTamily-compact  between  the  French  and  Spanish 
branches  of  the  house  of  Bourbon,  the  secret  influence  of 
which  had  rendered  abortive  some  recent  attempts  at  making 
peace.  With  his  characteristic  decision,  Pitt  immediately 
moved  for  a  declaration  of  war  against  Spain,  and  a  vigorous 
attack  on  her  foreign  possessions :  he  judged  it  better  to 
surprise  the  enemy  than  be  surprised  by  him ;  and  the 
treachery  of  Spain  seemed  to  authorise  the  omission  of 
preliminary  complaints  and  negotiations.  The  rest  of  the 
cabinet  thought  otherwise ;  the  question  was  debated  keenly, 
Pitt's  opinion  was  overruled,  and  hints  were  given  that  his 
concurrence  was  no  longer  indispensable.  The  popularity  of 
a  young  king,  and  the  national  desire  for  peace,  wai'ranted 
them  in  such  proceedings ;  but  it  was  against  the  minister's 
principle  to  incur  responsibility  where  he  had  not  the  manage- 
ment :  he  resigned  his  office  in  October  1761.  The  applauses 
of  all  good  men  accompanied  him  in  his  retreat ;  he  had  the 
character  of  the  most  able  and  virtuous  of  statesmen.  His 
private  fortune  was  likewise  increased  by  an  annuity  of  3000/., 
conferred  on  him  at  his  resignation,  to  last  during  his  life. 


WILLIAM   riTT,   EARL   OF   CHATHAM     147 

and  that  of  his  lady.  The  total  inattention  he  had  always 
manifested  to  his  individual  interests,  while  managing  the 
concerns  of  the  public,  rendered  this  annuity  a  necessary  gift. 
His  lady  was  farther  honoured  with  the  rank  of  the  peerage, 
conferred  on  her  by  the  title  of  Baroness  of  Chatham. 

Again  reduced  to  a  private  station,  Pitt  attended  chiefly 
to  his  duties  in  parliament ;  and,  without  uniting  himself  to 
any  party  in  the  state,  he  kept  a  watchful  eye  over  the  public 
conduct  of  ministers,  delivering  his  sentiments  in  the  same 
fearless  spirit,  which  had  hitherto  distinguished  all  his  public 
exhibitions.  When  the  peace  of  Paris,  which  his  own 
exertions  had  done  so  much  to  bring  about,  was  to  be 
concluded  in  1762,  he  expressed  himself  warmly  against  the 
terms  of  it, — against  the  smallness  of  the  benefit  likely  to 
result  to  England  from  the  commanding  attitude  she  had 
maintained  throughout  the  latter  years  of  the  war.  On 
the  question  of  General  Warrants^  arising  from  the  case  of 
Wilkes,  in  1764,  he  delivered  an  animated  speech  against 
the  legality  of  such  exertions  of  official  prerogative, — remind- 
ing his  hearers  "  that  an  Englishman's  house  was  his  castle, 
defended  not  indeed  by  battlements  and  bulwarks,  but  by 
the  impassable  though  unseen  barrier  of  law  :  it  might  be  a 
straw-built  shed,  into  which  every  wind  of  heaven  might 
enter ;  but  the  king  could  not,  the  king  dared  not."  That 
his  popularity  remained  undiminished  was  evinced  by  a  fact 
striking  enough  in  itself,  and  more  so  as  it  regarded  him. 
Sir  William  Pynsent  of  Burton-Pynsent,  in  the  county  of 
Somerset,  passed  over  his  own  family,  in  order  to  bequeath 
an  estate  of  300 OZ.  a-year  to  this  distinguished  patriot. 
Already  had  the  commencement  of  his  political  life  been 
dignified  by  a  similar  tribute  of  approbation  :  it  must  have 
been  doubly  gratifying  to  find  the  same  testimony  still  more 
unequivocally  renewed,  when  the  busiest  and  most  dangerous 
part  of  it  was  past. 

Pitt  was  again  to  be  a  minister,  but  never  so  happy  a 
one  as  he  had  been  already.      In  1766,  the  necessities  of  the 


148  MISCELLANIES 

government  once  more  called  him  to  a  share  in  it ;  the 
formation  of  a  new  cabinet  was  intrusted  to  him,  but  the 
undertaking  did  not  prosper  in  his  hands.  His  brother-in- 
law  and  old  associate  Lord  Temple,  his  friend  the  Marquis  of 
Rockingham,  could  not  enter  into  his  views,  or  act  along 
with  him ;  and  the  Great  Commoner  had  offended  many  of 
his  favourers  by  accepting  of  a  peerage.  He  was  made  Earl 
of  Chatham,  and  Baron  of  Burton-Pynsent,  prior  to  his 
entrance  upon  office.  Of  his  ministry  Mr.  Burke  has  left 
us  a  curious  and  often-quoted  description.  The  members  of 
it  were  the  most  heterogeneous  and  discordant ;  the  results 
they  produced  betrayed  the  feebleness  of  their  union. 
Chatham  resigned  in  two  years, — disgusted  with  the  un- 
to wardness  of  his  coadjutors,  and  tired  of  useless  exertions  to 
bend  their  clashing  principles  to  a  conformity  with  his  own. 

This  was  the  last  time  he  appeared  in  office  :  his  strength 
and  health  were  exhausted  ;  years  and  excessive  labour  had 
increased  the  violence  of  his  constitutional  disorder ;  he 
wanted  retirement  and  repose.  His  peerage  had  shut  against 
him  the  habitual  scene  of  his  parliamentary  exertions ;  he 
was  not  a  constant  attendant  in  the  house  of  Lords  :  but 
when  some  great  question  called  him  forth  from  his  retreat, 
the  fire  of  his  genius  still  shone  with  unabated  brilliancy. 
The  chief  theme  of  his  oratory,  from  this  period,  was  the 
quarrel  with  the  American  colonies,  the  interests  and  claims 
of  which  now  began  to  occupy  the  principal  share  of  the 
public  attention.  Chatham  resisted  the  imposition  of  taxes 
on  them  ;  he  warmly  seconded  the  repeal  of  the  stamp  act. 
But  when  war  had  been  undertaken,  above  all  when  France 
had  taken  part  in  it,  he  was  resolute  for  continuing  in  arms 
at  whatever  risk.  The  memorable  scene  in  which  he  dis- 
played his  anxiety  on  this  head  is  well  known.  On  the  7th 
of  April  1778,  the  Duke  of  Richmond  having  moved  an 
address  to  the  king,  in  which  the  necessity  of  admitting  the 
independence  of  America  was  broadly  insinuated,  Chatham 
deprecated  such  a  consummation  in  the  strongest  terms.      "  I 


WILLIAM   PITT,   EARL   OF   CHATHAM     149 

rejoice,""  said  he,  "  that  the  grave  has  not  closed  upon  nie, 
that  I  am  still  alive  to  lift  up  my  voice  against  the  dis- 
memberment of  this  ancient  and  noble  monarchy.  Pressed 
down  as  I  am  by  the  load  of  infirmity,  I  am  little  able  to 
assist  my  country  in  this  most  perilous  conjuncture ;  but,  my 
lords,  while  I  have  sense  and  memory,  I  never  will  consent  to 
tarnish  the  lustre  of  this  nation  by  an  ignominious  surrender 
of  its  rights  and  fairest  possessions.  Shall  a  people,  so  lately 
the  terror  of  the  world,  now  fall  prostrate  before  the  house 
of  Bourbon  ?  It  is  impossible  !  In  God's  name,  if  it  is 
absolutely  necessary  to  declare  either  for  peace  or  war,  and 
if  peace  cannot  be  preserved  with  honour,  why  is  not  war 
commenced  without  hesitation  ?  I  am  not,  I  confess,  well 
informed  of  the  resources  of  this  kingdom,  but  I  trust  it  has 
still  sufficient  to  maintain  its  just  rights,  though  I  know 
them  not.  Any  state,  my  lords,  is  better  than  despair.  Let 
us  at  least  make  one  effort ;  and  if  we  must  fall,  let  us  fall 
like  men."  The  duke  replied,  and  Chatham  made  an  eager 
effort  to  rise  that  he  might  speak  farther — but  in  vain — his 
voice  was  never  more  to  be  heard  in  that  senate  which  it  had 
so  often  dignified  and  delighted  ;  he  staggered,  laid  his  hand 
upon  his  bctsom,  fainted,  and  was  caught  in  the  arms  of  the 
lords  who  sat  near  him  and  sprang  to  his  assistance.  They 
carried  him  into  an  adjoining  room,  and  the  house  imme- 
diately adjourned.  Medical  assistance  being  procured,  he 
was  conveyed  to  his  villa  at  Hayes,  in  Kent ;  where  he 
lingered  only  till  the  following  11th  of  May,  and  then  died, 
in  the  seventieth  year  of  his  age. 

The  circumstances  of  his  death  combined  with  the  general 
character  of  his  life  to  render  that  event  peculiarly  impressive. 
News  of  it  being  conveyed  to  London  by  express,  Colonel 
Barre  reported  the  intelligence  to  parliament,  where  it 
suspended  all  other  business.  The  sense  which  the  public 
entertained  of  their  loss  was  manifested  by  the  honours  done 
to  his  memory.  Party  differences  seemed  to  be  forgot ;  all 
joined  in  voting  that  his  debts  should  be  paid  by  the  nation. 


150  MISCELLANIES 

and  that  a  yearly  sum  of  4000Z.  should  be  permanently 
added  from  the  civil  list  to  the  title  he  had  borne.  He  was 
buried  in  Westminster  Abbey  with  all  the  pomp  of  a  public 
funeral ;  and  a  piece  of  sculpture  was  afterwards  erected  by 
way  of  monument,  representing  the  last  scene  of  his  parlia- 
mentary life,  and  inscribed  as  the  tribute  of  the  King  and 
Parliament  to  the  Earl  of  Chatham. 

The  chief  lineaments  of  Chatham''s  character  may  be 
gathered  from  the  most  meagre  chronicle  of  his  actions. 
That  he  was  a  man  of  a  splendid  and  impetuous  genius — 
adapted  for  the  duties  of  an  orator  by  the  vehemence  of  his 
feelings,  and  the  rich  gifts  of  his  intellect ;  for  the  duties  of 
a  statesman,  by  his  vastness  of  conception,  his  unwearied 
assiduity  in  ordering,  his  inflexible  energy  in  execution — the 
highest  and  the  humblest  qualities  that  should  combine  to 
form  a  public  man — may  be  learned  from  contemplating  any 
portion  of  his  public  life.  A  survey  of  the  whole  will  better 
show  in  how  extraordinary  a  degree  he  possessed  these 
requisites,  and  how  richly  he  adorned  them  all  by  a  truly 
noble  style  of  sentiment,  a  rigid  adherence  to  the  great 
principles  of  honour  and  generosity,  and  every  manly  virtue. 
And  as  his  mind  was  singularly  elevated,  so  has  his  fortune 
been  singularly  good.  Few  men  that  have  acted  so  conspicu- 
ous a  part,  have  united  so  great  a  plurality  of  suffrages  in 
their  favour.  The  reason  is,  that  he  founded  no  sect,  was 
the  father  of  no  party,  but  of  the  party  that  love  their 
country  and  labour  for  it ;  and  having  thus  been  a  genuine 
catholic  in  politics,  his  merits  are  admitted  by  all.  Accord- 
ingly, the  clamours  that  assailed  him  in  life,  the  voice  of 
obloquy  and  opposition,  the  memory  of  his  failings  have 
long  since  died  quite  away ;  and  Chatham  is  one,  in  praise 
of  whom  the  bitterest  of  partymen  forget  their  bitterness. 
He  stands  in  the  annals  of  Europe,  "an  illustrious  and 
venerable  name,"  admired  by  countrymen  and  strangers,  by 
all  to  whom  loftiness  of  moral  principle  and  greatness  of 
talent  are  objects  of  regard. 


WILLIAM   PITT,   EARL   OF   CHATHAM     151 

"  His  private  life,"  says  Lord  Chesterfield,  "  was  stained  by 
no  vice,  nor  sullied  by  any  meanness.  All  his  sentiments 
were  liberal  and  elevated.  His  ruling  passion  was  an  un- 
bounded ambition,  which,  when  supported  by  great  abilities, 
and  crowned  by  great  success,  makes  what  the  world  calls 
a  great  man.  He  was  haughty,  imperious,  impatient  of 
contradiction,  and  overbearing ;  qualities  which  too  often 
accompany,  but  always  clog,  great  ones.  He  had  manners 
and  address  ;  but  one  might  discover  through  them  too  great 
a  consciousness  of  his  own  superior  talents.  He  was  a  most 
agreeable  and  lively  companion  in  social  life,  and  had  such 
a  versatility  of  wit,  that  he  could  adapt  it  to  all  sorts  of 
conversation.  He  had  a  most  happy  turn  to  poetry,  but 
seldom  indulged,  and  seldom  avowed  it.  His  eloquence  was 
of  every  kind,  and  he  excelled  in  the  argumentative  as  well  as 
the  declamatory  way.  But  his  invectives  were  terrible,  and 
uttered  with  such  energy  of  diction,  and  such  dignity  of 
action  and  countenance,  that  he  intimidated  those  who  were 
most  willing  and  best  able  to  encounter  him.  Their  arms 
fell  out  of  their  hands,  and  they  struck  under  the  ascendant 
which  his  genius  gained  over  theirs." 

If  Cha.tham's  faculties  had  not  been  more  worthily 
employed,  we  might  have  regretted  that  he  left  so  few 
memorials  of  them  in  a  literary  shape.  Many  of  his 
speeches,  under  all  the  deformities  of  incorrect  reporting, 
are  full  of  beauty ;  and  a  volume  of  "  Letters "  to  his 
nephew,  published  some  years  ago,  may  be  read  with  a 
pleasure  independent  of  their  author.  See  Life  of  Chatham, 
in  3  vols,  and  the  public  histories  of  the  time. 


WILLIAM   PITT,   THE   YOUNGER^ 

William  Pirr,  second  son  of  the  last  mentioned  Earl  of 
Chatham,  was  born  on  the  28th  of  May  1759.  The  early 
promise  of  his  childhood  was  not  unmarked  by  his  father, 
and  no  means  were  left  unemployed  to  realise  it.  Influenced 
partly  by  the  delicate  health  of  the  boy,  and  still  more  by  his 
own  sense  of  a  parent's  duty.  Lord  Chatham  had  his  son 
educated  at  home  under  his  own  immediate  inspection.  A 
tutor  was  engaged  to  instruct  him  in  the  elements  of  school 
learning ;  and  the  great  statesman  himself  devoted  a  portion 
of  his  leisure  to  form  the  principles  and  direct  the  under- 
standing of  his  child.  His  manner  of  conducting  this 
employment  was  suitable  to  the  feeling  which  had  prompted 
him  to  undertake  it.  He  studied  to  sink  the  character  of 
father  in  that  of  friend :  he  encouraged  William  and  his 
other  children  to  converse  with  him  freely  upon  every  topic ; 
each  day  he  made  a  point  of  delivering  to  them  some 
instruction  or  advice ;  and  every  evening  he  closed  this 
paternal  exercise  by  reading,  in  their  presence,  a  chapter  of 
the  Bible.  It  is  also  mentioned,  that  William  being  intended 
for  a  public  speaker,  one  of  his  customary  tasks  was  to 
declaim  on  some  given  topic  in  the  presence  of  his  father ;  a 
practice  to  which  he  doubtless  in  some  degree  owed  the 
remarkable  fluency  and  correctness  of  diction,  which  after- 
wards characterised  his  speeches  in  parliament. 

Under  such  tuition,  the  young  man  made  a  rapid  pro- 
ficiency :  at  the  early  age  of  fourteen,  he  was  found  advanced 
enough  for  attending  the  university,  and  was  entered  accord- 

^  Edinburgh  Encyclopedia,  vol.  xvi. 


WILLIAM    PITT,    THE    YOUNGER     153 

ingly  at  Pembroke-hall  College,  Cambridge,  in  1773.  His 
progress  here  was  e(|ually  rapid ;  he  enjoyed  some  peculiar 
advantages,  and  profited  well  by  them.  To  the  valuable 
gifts  of  nature,  a  quick  apprehension  and  a  retentive  memory, 
he  added  the  no  less  valuable  habit  of  steadfast  and  zealous 
application  ;  and,  by  his  father's  request,  each  of  the  two 
college  tutors  devoted  an  hour  every  day  to  his  improvement. 
One  of  these  tutors  was  Dr.  Pretyman,  now  Dr.  Tomline, 
bishop  of  Winchester.  His  connexion  with  Mr.  Pitt  began 
here ;  it  gradually  ripened  into  a  closer  attachment,  and 
continued  unbroken  till  death  divided  it.  This  circumstance 
speaks  favourably  for  the  feelings  of  Mr.  Pitt ;  except  in  acts 
of  mutual  kindness,  there  could  be  little  sympathy  between 
them.  The  learned  prelate  is  now  writing  a  life  of  his 
illustrious  pupil,  three  volumes  of  which  have  already  been 
published. 

Mr.  Pitt  was  too  young  to  acquire  much  distinction  by 
his  academical  exercises,  among  competitors  grown  up  to 
manhood.  But  his  residence  at  Cambridge  was  marked  by 
qualities  much  more  valuable  than  such  distinctions  imply. 
His  diligence  and  regularity  continued  unabated ;  he  was 
gradually  enriching  his  mind  with  the  treasures  of  learning, 
and  forming  his  conduct  on  the  principles  of  virtue  and 
sobriety.  Indulging  in  few  relaxations,  and  no  excess,  he 
pursued  his  studies  with  such  intensity,  that  his  naturally 
feeble  health  was  frequently  in  danger ;  and  the  chief  care 
of  his  affectionate  parent  was  not  to  excite  his  ardour,  but  to 
restrain  it.  "  All  you  want  at  present,"  he  writes  to  him  on 
one  occasion,  "  is  quiet ;  with  this,  if  your  ardour  d^Larevetv 
can  be  kept  in  till  you  are  stronger,  you  will  make  noise 
enough.  How  happy  the  task,  my  noble  amiable  boy,  to 
caution  you  onli^  against  pursuing  too  much  all  those  liberal 
and  praiseworthy  things,  to  which  less  happy  natures  are  to 
be  perpetually  spurred  and  driven  !  I  will  not  tease  you 
with  too  long  a  letter  in  favour  of  inaction  and  a  competent 
stupidity,  your  best  tutors  and  companions  at  present.      You 


154  MISCELLANIES 

have  time  to  spare ;  consider  there  is  but  the  Encyclopaedia, 
and  when  you  have  mastered  all  that,  what  will  remain  ? 
You  will  want,  like  Alexander,  another  world  to  conquer/"' 

This  excellent  father  he  lost  in  1778  ;  a  circumstance 
which,  to  a  less  sound  and  steady  mind,  might  have  proved 
of  fatal  consequence.  But  Mr.  Pitt,  in  his  nineteenth  year, 
was  equal  to  the  guidance  of  himself;  his  plan  of  life  had 
already  been  chalked  out  for  him ;  and  he  possessed  the 
qualifications  necessary  for  pursuing  it  with  success.  Intended 
for  the  bar  and  the  senate,  he  busied  himself  unweariedly 
in  preparing  for  the  duties  of  both.  After  quitting  the 
university,  and  spending  a  winter  at  Rheims  in  France, 
having  completed  his  terms  at  Lincoln's  Inn,  he  was  made 
a  counsellor  in  1780,  whenever  he  became  of  age.  In  the 
ensuing  western  circuit,  he  followed  the  court,  and  appeared 
in  several  minor  causes  with  great  approbation.  But  brighter 
prospects  opened  to  him  elsewhere ;  he  never  made  another 
journey  of  this  kind.  The  parliament  being  dissolved  in  the 
autumn  of  the  same  year,  he  started  as  a  candidate  for  the 
universitv  of  Cambridge.  Here,  indeed,  he  was  unsuccessful ; 
the  interest  of  his  competitors  appeared  so  decidedly  superior, 
that  he  withdrew  without  coming  to  a  poll ;  but  a  few 
months  afterwards,  the  interest  of  Sir  James  Lowther 
procured  him  a  seat  for  the  borough  of  Appleby,  and  he 
took  his  place  accordingly,  in  January  1781. 

In  this  scene  of  his  father's  early  triumphs,  Mr.  Pitt  was 
destined  to  secure  as  brilliant  triumphs  at  an  age  still  earlier. 
He  had  not  yet  completed  his  twenty-second  year ;  and,  in 
a  few  weeks,  his  talents  had  forced  their  way  into  notice,  in 
spite  of  all  the  claims  of  the  many  distinguished  orators  who 
at  that  time  swayed  the  House  of  Connnons.  His  first 
speech  was  during  the  debate  on  Mr.  Burke's  bill  for  an 
economical  reform  in  the  civil  list.  He  is  said  to  have  been 
in  some  degree  surprised  into  speaking ;  but  the  appearance 
he  made  indicated  no  such  want  of  preparation.  INIr.  Byng, 
the  member  for  Middlesex,  knowing  the  sentiments  of  Mr. 


WILLIAM    PITT,    THE    YOUNGER      155 

Pitt  to  be  decidedly  in  favour  of  the  bill,  had  requested  him 
to  reply  to  Lord  Nugent,  at  that  moment  addressing  the 
House  in  opposition  to  it.  Mr.  Pitt  gave  his  friend  a  dubious 
answer,  which  was  construed  into  an  assent,  and  the  notice 
of  it  was  circulated  round  in  whispers.  In  the  interim, 
however,  he  had  come  to  the  resolution  not  to  rise  ;  and  it 
would  have  agitated  a  man  of  less  self-possession  to  notice, 
that  when  Lord  Nugent  sat  down,  a  universal  pause  ensued, 
and  then  a  loud  call  from  various  quarters  of  the  House  for 
"  Mr.  Pitt."  He  stood  up  in  consequence  :  his  last  biographer 
thus  describes  what  followed,  "  Though  really  not  intending 
to  speak,  he  was  from  the  beginning  collected  and  unem- 
barrassed ;  he  argued  strongly  in  favour  of  the  bill,  and 
noticed  all  the  objections  which  had  been  urged  by  the 
Noble  Lord  who  immediately  preceded  him  in  the  debate, 
in  a  manner  which  greatly  astonished  all  who  heard  him. 
Never  were  higher  expectations  formed  of  any  person  upon 
his  first  coming  into  Parliament,  and  never  were  expectations 
more  completely  answered.  They  were  indeed  much  more 
than  answered :  such  were  the  fluency  and  accuracy  of 
language,  such  the  perspicuity  of  arrangement,  and  such 
the  closeness_of  reasoning,  and  manly  and  dignified  elocution 
— generally,  even  in  a  much  less  degree,  the  fruits  of  long 
habit  and  experience — that  it  could  scarcely  be  believed  to 
be  the  first  speech  of  a  young  man  not  yet  two-and-twenty." 
i\Ir.  Pitt  spoke  only  thrice  during  this  session ;  but  he 
acquitted  himself  so  well,  as,  before  the  end  of  it,  to  secure 
the  reputation  of  a  most  able  orator,  from  the  best  judges, 
of  his  time.  One  of  Mr.  Fox's  friends,  about  this  period, 
observed  to  him,  that  Mr.  Pitt  promised  to  be  one  of  the 
first  speakers  ever  heard  in  the  House  of  Commons ;  to  which 
Mr.  Fox  instantly  replied,  "  He  is  so  already."  A  still 
warmer  tribute  of  applause  was  paid  him  not  long  after,  by 
INIr.  Dunning  :  "  Almost  all  the  sentiments,"  he  said,  "  which 
he  had  collected  in  his  own  mind  on  the  subject  (the  mis- 
conduct of  our  naval  affairs),  had  vanished  away  like  a  dream, 


156  MISCELLANIES 

on  the  bursting  forth  of  a  torrent  of  eloquence,  from  the 
greatest  prodigy  that  ever  was  seen  in  this,  or  perhaps  in  any 
other  country — an  honourable  gentleman  possessing  the  full 
vigour  of  youth,  united  with  the  experience  and  wisdom  of 
the  maturest  age." 

The  removal  of  Lord  North  and  his  adherents  might  have 
opened  the  way  for  Mr.  Pitfs  admission  into  office.  The 
Rockingham  party,  anxious  to  appropriate  the  benefits  of  his 
eloquence,  had  even  offered  him  the  vice-treasurership  of 
Ireland,  a  place  of  some  consequence  formerly  held  by  his 
father.  But  Mr.  Pitt,  with  a  consciousness  of  great  abilities, 
which  succeeding  events  amply  justified,  had  made  up  his  mind 
from  the  first  to  accept  of  no  situation  which  did  not  give 
him  a  place  in  the  cabinet.  He  therefore  refused  this  offer, 
though  he  continued  to  support  the  measures  of  the  ministry, 
whose  liberal  system  of  government  was  naturally  accordant 
with  the  principles  of  a  son  and  pupil  of  the  great  Chatham. 
About  this  time,  also,  he  brought  forward  the  famous  question 
of  Parliamentary  Reform.  It  appears  that  about  that  period 
he  had  felt  a  considerable  interest  in  this  important  subject ; 
he  had  encouraged  the  combinations  formed  in  various  parts 
of  the  kingdom  in  favour  of  it,  and  had  himself  sat  as  a 
delegate  at  a  meeting  convened  in  Westminster  for  this  ex- 
press purpose.  He  supported  the  same  cause  with  great 
eloquence  in  his  place  in  parliament.  His  motion  (May 
1782)  "for  a  committee  to  inquire  into  the  state  of  the 
representation  in  parliament,  and  to  report  to  the  House  their 
observations  thereon,"  was  lost  by  a  majority  of  twenty ;  he 
again  spoke  earnestly  in  favour  of  reform  in  1783  ;  and,  lastly, 
while  a  minister,  in  1785,  he  presented  a  specific  plan  for 
effecting  this  object,  which  also  was  rejected.  These  proceed- 
ings were  long  afterwards  contrasted  with  his  subsequent  pro- 
ceedings in  the  same  matter,  and  much  loud  accusation  was 
drawn  from  the  comparison. 

By  the  Marquis  of  Rockingham's  death.  Lord  Shelburne 
became  prime  minister ;    and  Mr.   Pitt  was   associated   with 


WILLIAM    PITT,    THE    YOUNGER      157 

him  as  chancellor  of  the  exchec^uer,  in  June  1782.  The 
task  which  devolved  on  him  was  one  of  great  difficulty. 
Lord  Shelburne's  elevation  had  converted  several  of  his 
friends  into  bitter  enemies :  his  peace  with  America  and 
France  was  at  best  but  a  humiliating  affair ;  and  the  whole 
charge  of  managing  the  House  of  Commons  was  intrusted  to 
Mr.  Pitt.  Scarcely  arrived  at  the  age  of  twenty-three,  he 
had  thus  to  make  head  against  the  most  formidable  opposi- 
tion. Lord  North  was  still  in  his  place,  with  ability  or 
extent  of  connection  undiminished ;  and  the  hostility  of  Mr. 
Fox,  who  had  left  the  ministry  at  Rockingham's  death, 
was  at  once  strong  and  implacable.  The  quarrel  of  Lord 
Shelburne  and  Mr.  Fox  is  a  well-known  event ;  the  mode  in 
which  the  latter  sought  for  justice  or  revenge,  is  also  well 
known,  and  very  diversely  judged  of.  We  need  only  at 
present  remark,  that  the  combination  of  Lord  North  and 
Mr.  Fox  overpowered  the  new  and  unstable  minister :  he 
was  compelled  to  resign,  and  Mr.  Pitt  went  out  with  him, 
in  the  beginning  of  1783.  Prior  to  this  event,  we  are  told, 
a  reconciliation  had  been  attempted.  "  Neither  Mr.  Pitt  nor 
Lord  Shelburne,"  says  the  Bishop  of  Winchester,  "saw  any 
reason  why  they  should  not  act  with  Mr.  Fox.  It  was 
therefore  agreed  that  an  offer  should  be  made  to  him  to 
return  to  office,  for  which  purpose  Mr.  Pitt  waited  upon  him 
by  appointment.  As  soon  as  Mr.  Fox  heard  the  object  of 
Mr.  Pitt's  visit,  he  asked  whether  it  was  intended  that  Lord 
Shelburne  should  remain  first  lord  of  the  treasury ;  to  which 
Mr.  Pitt  answered  in  the  affirmative.  Mr.  Fox  immediately 
replied,  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  belong  to  any 
administration  of  which  Lord  Shelburne  was  the  head.  Mr. 
Pitt  observed,  that  if  such  was  his  determination,  it  would  be 
useless  for  him  to  enter  into  any  farther  discussion,  "  as  he 
did  not  come  to  betray  Lord  Shelburne " ;  and  he  took  his 
leave.  This  was,  I  believe,  the  last  time  Mr.  Pitt  was  in 
a  private  room  with  Mr.  Fox  ;  and,  from  this  period,  may 
be  dated  that  political  hostility  which  continued  through  the 


158  MISCELLANIES 

remainder  of  their  lives."  The  same  feeling  of  integrity 
towards  his  colleague,  induced  Mr.  Pitt  respectfully  to 
decline  the  offer  of  succeeding  him,  which  the  king  con- 
descended to  make  him  in  person.  He  again  would  not 
"  betray  Lord  Shelburne  "  ;  and,  under  the  Duke  of  Portland, 
the  united  party  of  Lord  North  and  Mr.  Fox  came  into 
office  in  their  stead. 

This  famous  Coalition  Ministry  was  offensive  at  once  to  the 
king  and  to  a  great  portion  of  the  country.  Mr.  Fox's  share 
in  it  was  entirely  approved  of  by  none  but  his  very  warmest 
partisans.  Mr.  Pitt,  though  he  was  of  those  who  thought  it 
"  monstrous,  in  the  ardent  defender  of  the  people's  rights,  to 
unite  with  the  lofty  assertor  of  the  prerogative,""  yet  pledged 
himself  not  systematically  to  oppose  their  measures.  They 
had  his  support  on  more  than  one  occasion  ;  but,  on  the  first 
motion  of  Mr.  Fox's  celebrated  India  bill,  he  expressed  his 
unqualified  dissent  from  it,  and  resisted  it  in  all  its  stages. 
We  need  hardly  mention  the  fate  of  this  bill ;  it  was  pushed 
through  the  House  of  Commons  by  overpowering  majorities ; 
but  the  king  took  the  alarm  at  the  great  and  permanent 
accession  of  influence  which  it  seemed  to  confer  on  the 
ministers ;  Lord  Temple  made  known  his  Majesty's  feelings, 
and  the  bill  was  thrown  out  in  the  House  of  Lords.  Mr.  Fox 
and  his  colleagues  were,  in  consequence,  displaced. 

The  prospects  of  a  prime  minister  at  this  juncture  were 
fixY  from  inviting :  the  highest  talents  in  the  country,  sup- 
ported by  the  most  powerful  parliamentary  interest,  and 
embittered  by  defeat,  were  like  to  be  arrayed  against  him  ; 
he  could  have  nothing  to  rely  on  but  the  king's  favour  and 
his  own  abilities.  Mr.  Pitt,  however,  did  not  hesitate  to 
accept  this  office ;  he  was  appointed  first  lord  of  the  treasury, 
and  chancellor  of  the  exchequer,  in  December  1783.  The 
appalling  state  of  matters  soon  became  apparent.  The  new 
minister's  India  bill  was  rejected  by  a  majority  of  222  to 
214  ;  and  a  similar  fate  attended  all  the  subsequent  motions 
on  which  he  divided  the  house.      Nevertheless,  Mr.  Pitt  stood 


WILLIAM    PITT,    THE    YOUNGER     159 

his  ground.  Strong  in  the  favour  of  the  king,  in  the  conscious- 
ness of  his  own  abilities,  and  firmly  believing  in  the  goodness 
of  his  cause,  he  exerted  himself  with  the  most  extraordinary 
diligence  to  vanquish  the  opposition  made  to  him,  and  fix 
himself  securely  in  the  confidence  of  the  nation  at  large.  In 
this  contest,  the  versatility  of  his  talents,  the  dexterity  of 
his  argumentation,  the  sharpness  of  his  sarcasm,  the  ingenuity 
of  all  his  measures,  were  not  less  wonderful  than  the  firmness 
of  mind,  which  prompted  him  at  an  age  so  early,  to  encounter, 
single-handed,  some  of  the  most  formidable  obstacles  that  ever 
minister  had  to  strive  with.  By  dint  of  unwearied  exertions, 
he  at  length  succeeded  in  reducing  the  majority  which  sup- 
ported his  opponents,  to  a  single  voice ;  and,  finally,  in 
drawing  over  that  voice  also  to  his  own  side.  Having 
prospered  so  far,  and  what  was  more  important,  having  now, 
as  he  thought,  convinced  the  public  of  the  rectitude  of  his 
measures,  he  determined  to  appeal  more  immediately  to  the 
general  sense  of  the  nation,  and  the  parliament  was  dissolved 
in  March  1784.  The  new  election  justified  his  hopes; 
there  was  now  a  decided  majority  in  his  favour ;  his  India 
bill  passed,  and  he  became  prime  minister  in  substance  as 
well  as  form.  He  had  earned  his  power  with  difiSculty,  and 
he  kept  it  steadfastly.  For  the  next  seventeen  years  he  was 
constantly  in  office. 

His  conduct  during  this  long  administration  was  marked 
by  great  caution  and  skill ;  and,  for  a  considerable  period, 
by  the  almost  universal  approbation  of  the  country.  The 
few  faults  found  with  it  indicated  how  completely  he  had 
mastered  the  failings  most  likely  to  beset  him.  It  was  not 
the  ardour  of  youth,  its  })assion  for  dazzling  schemes,  or  the 
indiscriminate  zeal  for  splendid  improvements,  natural  to  one 
who  had  already  declared  himself  so  warmly  in  their  favour, 
that  were  blamed  ;  it  was  rather  a  circumspectness,  bordering 
on  jealousy,  a  reverence  for  existing  institutions,  a  coldness  or 
hostility  to  innovation,  which  looked  like  political  apostasy 
in  the  once    powerful    advocate    for   reform ;    the    errors,   in 


160  MISCELLANIES 

short,    of   an    old    and   narrow-minded    statesman,   not   of  a 
young  and  highly-gifted  one.      If  these  features  of  his  public 
character  gave  little  testimony  as  to  the  extent  of  his  enthu- 
siasm, or  the  warmth  of  his  feelings,  they  indicated  favourably 
respecting  his  prudence  and  the  clearness  of  his  judgment. 
Mr.  Pitt  had  still  a  strong,  though  no  longer  a  triumphant 
opposition  to  encounter  in  parliament ;  the  public  confidence 
was  yet  but  partially  merited ;  and  it  seemed  good  policy  to 
avoid  all  extraordinary  movements  which  might  expose  him 
to  misrepresentations,  or  put  his  still  wavering  stability  in 
dano-er.      Accordingly,   though   continuing    to   patronise   the 
principles  of  freedom  and  liberality,  which  he  had  at   first 
announced,  he  abstained  from  making  any  of  them  what  are 
called  cabinet  questions ;  he  spoke  and  voted  in  their  favour, 
but  did  little  more.      He  no  longer  took  a  lead  among  their 
abettors ;  some  of  them  he  came  at  last  resolutely  to  oppose. 
The  friends  of  parliamentary  reform  expected,  that  now,  when 
the  power  was  in  his  hands,  the  schemes  he  had  twice  pro- 
posed were  at  length  to  be  realised  ;  but  his  motion  for  this 
purpose,  in    1785,  having,  as    we   mentioned    already,  been 
rejected  in  the  House  of  Commons,  he  never  more  recurred 
to  the  subject,  except  as  a  decided  opponent  of  those  who 
pushed  it  forward.      His  conduct  underwent  censures  on  this 
head  ;  they  were  augmented  by  his  opposition  to  the  repeal  of 
the  test  act — a  piece  of  management  which  many  stigmatised 
as  a  homage  done  to  bigotry  and  popular  prejudice,  unworthy 
of  the  son  of  Chatham.      The  same  party  who  blamed  him 
for  his  indifference  to  the  cause  of  improvement  at  home,  also 
blamed   him    for   the    minute  jealousy  of  his   conduct   with 
foreign    powers.       His    disputes    with    Catharine    of    Russia 
about  the  fortress  of  Orchakow,  and  with  Spain  about  the 
fur-trade  of  Nootka  Sound,  were  exclaimed  against  as  trifles 
which    he  was    magnifying   into    causes    of  war.      With  the 
great  body  of  the  nation,  however,  he  was  still  a   decided 
favourite  ;  they  forgot  these  alleged  blemishes  in  his  character, 
or  reckoned  them  as  beauties,  while  they  felt  the  substantial 


WILLIAM    PITT,   THE    YOUNGER     161 

good  he  was  effecting  in  many  departments  of  domestic 
policy,  and  participated  in  the  steady  prosperity  which  the 
country  enjoyed  under  his  administration.  The  improvements 
he  had  made  in  collecting  the  revenue,  his  plans  for  prevent- 
ing contraband  trade,  his  general  skill  as  a  financier,  were 
universally  applauded.  The  probity  and  zeal  with  which  he 
served  the  public  had  gradually  secured  him  its  confidence ; 
and  his  admirable  talents  for  debate,  the  unrivalled  clearness 
of  his  expositions,  the  sagacity  of  his  management,  enabled 
him  to  influence,  in  the  requisite  degree,  the  deliberations  of 
parliament,  and  verified,  in  the  common  opinion,  the  high 
expectations  at  first  entertained  of  him.  His  ministry,  if  not 
brilliant,  had  hitherto  been  fortunate ;  a  few  disappointed 
reformers  might  murmur,  but  the  voice  of  the  country  was 
yet  with  him. 

The  king  also  had  long  cordially  approved  of  his  measures  ; 
and  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Pitt,  during  the  famous  regency 
question,  is  said  greatly  to  have  strengthened  this  sentiment. 
In  1788,  his  majesty  was  seized  with  the  first  attack  of  that 
awful  malady,  under  which  his  days  were  destined  to  close  ; 
the  head  of  the  government  was  declared  to  be  incapable  of 
discharging  his  functions  ;  and  the  mode  of  supplying  his  place 
became  an  object  of  keen  discussion,  involving  some  of  the 
most  dubious  principles  of  the  constitution,  and  quickened  by 
hopes  and  fears  which  had  no  reference  to  the  general  question. 
As  the  Prince  of  Wales  then  favoured  the  Whig  party,  it  was 
their  interest  to  have  him  appointed  regent  with  as  few  limita- 
tions as  possible ;  Mr.  Pitt's,  on  the  contrary,  with  as  many. 
The  prevailing  opinion  appeared  to  sanction  the  views  of  the 
latter.  Mr.  Fox,  in  maintaining  that  the  unrestricted  regency 
should  devolve  on  the  heir-apparent  independently  of  the  two 
Houses  of  Parliament,  was  accused  of  forsaking  those  maxims 
of  popular  right  which  it  had  been  the  great  object  of  his 
public  life  to  support.  During  the  discussion  Mr.  Pitt  was 
countenanced  by  numerous  addresses  from  various  parts  of 
the  kingdom,  and  at   length  succeeded  in  passing  a  bill  of 

VOL.  v.  L 


162  MISCELLANIES 

such  a  kind  as  he  desired.  His  majesty ""s  recovery  happily 
rendered  this  superfluous  ;  but  the  minister's  prudence  and 
firmness  were  rewarded  by  an  increase  of  confidence  from  his 
former  adherents,  and  particularly  from  the  master  whose 
interests  he  watched  over  with  such  care. 

Hitherto  Mr.  Pitt  had  proceeded  without  violent  opposi- 
tion, so  as  to  gain  the  toleration  of  all  ranks,  and  the  warm 
applauses  of  many.  But  the  next  great  event  in  which  he 
took  a  share,  while  it  united  him  more  closely  to  his  own 
party,  made  an  irreparable  breach  between  him  and  those 
who  adopted  the  contrary  side.  In  1789  the  French  Revolu- 
tion broke  out,  convulsing  all  Europe  by  its  explosion  ;  and 
it  became  a  momentous  question  to  determine  what  measures 
England  should  follow  in  a  crisis  so  terrible.  For  the 
arbitrary  monarchs  of  the  Continent,  it  was  natural  to  view 
with  horror  and  aversion  this  formidable  display  of  democratic 
principles  :  Was  Great  Britain  to  join  in  their  league  against 
the  dishonoured  cause  of  freedom,  to  check  the  disseminators 
of  such  doctrines  by  coercion  and  punishment  at  home  and 
abroad  ;  or,  standing  aloof  from  the  contest,  to  guard  her 
own  internal  quiet,  and  study  to  promote  her  own  interest, 
by  the  favourable  conjunctures  of  a  struggle,  which  she  might 
contemplate  without  mixing  in  it  ?  The  latter  was  in  part 
the  opinion  of  one  class,  at  the  head  of  which  was  Mr.  Fox ; 
the  former  was  the  plan  adopted  by  Mr.  Pitt.  He  embarked 
with  great  zeal  in  the  continental  war  of  1792  ;  and  Britain 
became  involved  in  that  quarrel,  the  disasters  of  which  over- 
spread Europe  with  misery  for  five-and-twenty  years.  The 
commencement  was  eminently  unsuccessful ;  the  allied  armies 
were  defeated  in  every  direction ;  the  voice  of  discontent  grew 
clamorous  at  home ;  commercial  distress  pressed  heavy  on  the 
country ;  reformers  came  forward  with  wild  and  dangerous 
schemes,  which  the  government  met  by  treatment  of  unex- 
ampled severity.  The  habeas  corpus  act  was  suspended,  and 
political  prosecutions  multiplied  without  end.  The  events  of 
the  war  continued  to  be  unfortunate  abroad  ;    and  at  length 


WILLIAM    riTT,    THE    YOUNGER     163 

a  bloody  rebellion  broke  out  at  home.  Mr.  Pitt's  conduct  in 
this  universal  commotion  deserved  the  praise  of  steadfastness 
at  least ;  he  persevered  in  his  resolution  amid  every  difficulty ; 
he  strained  every  nerve  to  strike  an  effective  blow  at  France ; 
he  met  the  danger  of  national  bankruptcy  by  the  suspension 
of  cash  payments  ;  he  prosecuted  reformers ;  he  quelled  the 
rebellion  in  Ireland,  and  united  that  kingdom  to  our  own. 
For  these  exertions  he  was  by  many  venerated  as  the  saviour 
of  the  British  constitution  ;  by  a  few  he  was  almost  execrated 
as  its  destroyer.  One  party  fondly  named  him  "  the  pilot 
that  weathered  the  storm";  another  reckoned  that  the  "storm"" 
was  yet  far  from  being  "  weathered."  Agitated  and  tired  by 
these  incessant  conflicts,  he  must  have  viewed  as  a  kind  of 
relief  his  retirement  from  office,  which  took  place  in  1801. 
Various  reasons  have  been  assigned  for  this  step  :  some  say  it 
was  by  reason  of  differences  with  the  king  in  regard  to  the 
proper  mode  of  treating  the  Irish  Catholics  ;  others  assert 
that,  being  hopeless  of  making  any  peace  with  France,  at  all 
suitable  to  the  high  tone  with  which  he  had  begun  the  war, 
he  was  willing  to  leave  to  others  the  ungracious  task  of  com- 
pleting this  unprosperous  enterprise.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Mr.  Addington,  afterwards  Lord  Sidmouth. 

That  both'tauses  had  some  influence  in  his  resignation  was 
rendered  probable  by  the  line  of  conduct  which  Mr.  Pitt 
pursued  when  out  of  office.  He  justified  the  peace  of  Amiens 
in  his  place  in  Parliament ;  but,  in  various  important  points, 
he  voted  with  the  opposition.  This  peace  was  of  short 
duration  ;  a  new  war  was  declared,  and  the  existing  ministry 
being  found  inadequate  for  the  support  of  it,  Mr.  Pitt  was 
again  called  to  the  supreme  charge  in  1804.  He  formed  a 
cabinet  by  introducing  several  of  his  own  friends,  and  retain- 
ing many  of  those  already  in  place.  His  own  station,  as 
formerly,  was  that  of  first  lord  of  the  treasury. 

Mr.  Pitt  was  now  to  become  a  war  minister  in  earnest ;  he 
prepared  himself  for  the  most  vigorous  efforts  to  acquire  the 
same  reputation  in  this  new  department  of  public  service,  as 


164  MISCELLANIES 

he  had  before  acquired  in  that  of  finance.  By  his  exertions, 
Russia  and  Austria  entered  into  a  new  confederacy  against 
France, — which,  it  was  at  last  hoped,  these  two  formidable 
powers  would  succeed  in  reducing  to  subjection.  The  battle 
of  Austerlitz  put  an  end  to  such  expectations.  Mr.  Pitt's 
plans  again  became  abortive ;  he  was  again  beset  with  diffi- 
culties ;  and  the  state  of  his  health  rendered  this  stroke  of 
misfortune  peculiarly  severe.  The  news  of  the  French  victory 
found  him  at  Bath,  to  which  he  had  been  forced  to  retire  in 
the  end  of  1805.  His  disorder  originated  in  a  tendency  to 
gout,  which  he  inherited  from  his  father,  and  which  his  own 
anxious  and  over- laboured  life,  as  well  as  his  somewhat 
exuberant  convivial  habits,  had  of  course  strengthened  rather 
than  abated.  The  Bath  waters  gave  him  no  permanent  relief; 
and  in  the  beginning  of  January  he  returned  to  his  villa  at 
Putney,  in  a  very  weak  state.  Still  his  physicians  saw  no 
cause  for  immediate  alarm  ;  but,  before  the  twentieth  of  the 
month,  various  apprehensions  were  entertained  for  him,  and  a 
few  hours  of  that  day  converted  these  apprehensions  into 
mournful  certainty.  A  short  while  previous  to  his  decease, 
Dr.  Tomline,  then  bishop  of  Lincoln,  who  watched  affection- 
ately over  his  illness,  communicated  to  him  the  unfavourable 
opinion  of  Sir  Walter  Farquhar,  his  medical  attendant.  Mr. 
Pitt  inquired  of  Sir  Walter,  who  then  stood  beside  his  bed, 
"  How  long  do  you  think  I  have  to  live  ?  "  The  physician 
expressed  a  faint  hope  that  he  would  recover ;  a  languid 
smile  on  the  patient's  countenance  showed  that  he  understood 
the  reply.  When  the  bishop  requested  leave  to  pray  with 
him,  he  answered,  "  I  fear  I  have,  like  too  many  other  men, 
neglected  prayer  too  much  to  have  any  hope  that  it  can  be 
efficacious  on  a  deathbed  ;  but,"  added  he,  making  an  effort 
to  rise  as  he  spoke,  "  I  throw  myself  entirely  on  the  mercy  of 
God."  He  then  joined  in  the  exercises  of  devotion  with 
much  apparent  meekness  and  humility.  Of  his  death  he 
spoke  with  calmness  ;  arranged  the  settlement  of  his  private 
concerns,  and  recommended  his  nieces  to  the  gratitude  of  the 


WILLIAM    PITT,    THE    YOUNGER     165 

nation ;  "  I  could  wish,""  he  said,  "  a  thousand  or  fifteen 
hundred  a-year  to  be  given  them,  if  the  public  sliould  think 
my  long  services  deserving  of  it."'  He  died  about  four  o'clock 
on  the  morning  of  the  23d  of  January  1806,  in  the  47th 
year  of  his  age.  The  parliament  decreed  him  the  honours  of 
a  public  funeral,  and  granted  the  sum  of  40,000/.  to  dis- 
charge his  debts.  A  monument  was  afterwards  erected  to 
his  memory  in  Westminster  Abbey ;  and  similar  testimonies 
of  the  public  feeling  are  to  be  met  Avith  in  various  quarters 
of  the  kingdom.  His  death,  so  unexpected,  and  at  so  gloomy 
a  period,  was  deeply  regretted  at  home,  and  created  a  strong 
sensation  over  all  Europe. 

Of  his  character  it  is  difficult  to  speak  so  as  to  escape  con- 
tradiction ;  he  passed  his  life  in  contests,  and  their  influence 
extends  beyond  his  grave.  In  his  private  relations  it  is 
universally  admitted,  that,  under  a  cold  and  rather  haughty 
exterior,  he  bore  a  mind  of  great  amiableness  and  sterling 
worth.  The  enthusiasm  with  which  his  intimate  friends 
regarded  him  gives  proof  of  this.  *'  With  a  manner  some- 
what reserved  and  distant,"  says  Mr.  Rose,  "in  what  might 
be  termed  his  public  deportment,  no  man  was  ever  better 
qualified  to  gain,  or  more  successful  in  fixing,  the  attachment 
of  his  friends  than  Mr.  Pitt.  They  saw  all  the  powerful 
energies  of  his  character  softened  into  the  most  perfect  com- 
placency and  sweetness  of  disposition,  in  the  circles  of  private 
life ;  the  pleasures  of  which  no  one  more  cheerfully  enjoyed, 
or  more  agreeably  promoted,  when  the  paramount  duties  he 
conceived  himself  to  owe  to  the  public  admitted  of  his  mixing 
in  them.  That  indignant  severity  with  which  he  met  and 
subdued  what  he  considered  unfounded  opposition  ;  that  keen- 
ness of  sarcasm  with  which  he  expelled  and  withered,  as  it 
might  be  said,  the  powers  of  most  of  his  assailants  in  debate, 
were  exchanged,  in  the  society  of  his  intimate  friends,  for  a 
kindness  of  heart,  a  gentleness  of  demeanour,  and  a  playful- 
ness of  good  humour,  which  no  one  ever  witnessed  without 
interest,  or  participated  without  delight."" 


166  MISCELLANIES 

His  merits  as  a  public  man  are  yet  a  matter  of  vehement 
discussion,  and  bid  fair  long  to  continue  so.  That  he  was  a 
powerful  speaker — -unrivalled  for  the  choice  of  his  words,  the 
lucid  arrangement  of  his  statements,  the  address  and  ingenuity 
of  his  arguments — appears  to  be  universally  granted.  That 
he  was  a  skilful  financier — distinguished  for  the  sagacity  of 
his  plans  and  the  diligence  with  which  he  reduced  them  to 
practice — appears  also  to  be  granted,  though  less  universally. 
But  with  regard  to  the  wisdom  of  his  foreign  and  domestic 
policy,  there  is  no  unanimity  of  opinion  even  among  those 
best  qualified  to  judge  him.  His  friends  have  exalted  his 
merits  to  the  highest  pitch  of  human  excellence  ;  his  enemies 
have  represented  him  as  destitute  of  great  ideas,  a  narrow 
seeker  of  temporary  expedients,  who  sacrificed  the  cause  of 
freedom  to  a  love  of  place  and  kingly  favour.  No  doubt  there 
is  much  exaggeration  in  this.  The  change  of  his  political 
sentiments  after  his  accession  to  authority  is  certainly  a  cir- 
cumstance unfavourable  to  his  general  reputation  ;  but  the 
impartial  observer  will  hesitate  before  adopting  so  mournful 
a  solution  of  it.  In  this  world  of  vicissitudes,  it  is  not 
necessarily  owing  to  unsoundness  of  moral  principle  that  the 
opinions  of  our  first  age  cease  to  be  those  of  our  last.  Mr. 
Pitt,  in  his  twenty-fourth  year,  arrived  at  the  highest  station 
which  a  subject  can  hope  for,  without  any  violation  of  sincerity; 
it  was  natural  that  he  should  look  on  the  business  of  reform 
with  very  different  eyes  when  he  viewed  it  as  a  minister  and 
as  a  popular  orator — on  the  side  of  its  benefits  and  on  the 
side  of  its  inconveniences ;  that,  as  he  gradually  accustomed 
himself  to  the  exercise  of  power,  and  grew  in  years,  and 
influence,  and  strength  of  habits,  the  ardent  innovator  should 
pass  by  degrees  into  the  wary  minister,  for  whom  the  machine 
of  government  was  less  a  thing  to  beautify  and  improve  than 
to  keep  moving  with  steadiness  and  quiet.  There  seems  no 
need  for  more  sinister  imputations  in  all  this  ;  and  Mr.  Pitfs 
general  conduct  proved  too  well  the  independence  of  his  mind 
to  admit  of  such  being  formed.     His  treatment  of  Lord  Shel- 


WILLIAM    PITT,    THE    YOUNGER     167 

burne,  the  total  inattention  he  uniformly  showed  to  personal 
profit  or  aggrandisement,  should  acquit  him  of  such  charges. 
When  the  jarrings  of  Whig  and  Tory  have  given  place  to 
other  causes  of  discord,  as  they  succeeded  others,  a  distant 
posterity  will  join  the  names  of  Pitt,  and  his  rival  Fox,  to 
the  names  of  the  Chathams,  the  Oxenstierns,  the  Colberts, 
and  other  great  statesmen  of  Europe ;  it  will  be  for  the  same 
posterity  to  decide  what  rank  they  shall  occupy  in  that  august 
series — to  trace  with  clearness  the  influence  due  to  their 
actions,  and  assign  to  each  the  proper  share  of  gratitude  or 
blame. — See  Gifford's  Life  of  Pitt,  Tomlme''s  Life,  etc.  etc. 
etc. 


CRUTHERS   AND   JONSON;    OR, 
THE  OUTSKIRTS   OF  LIFE^ 


A    TRUE    STORY 


What  feeling  of  our  nature  is  so  universally  approved,  as  that 
of  Friendship  ?  Unlike  all  others,  it  appears  to  be  capable 
of  no  excess,  and  to  unite  every  suffrage  in  its  favour :  the 
more  vehement,  the  more  enthusiastic  it  is,  we  applaud  it  the 
more ;  and  men  of  all  climes  and  habitudes,  the  saint,  the 
savage,  and  the  sage,  unite  in  our  applauses.  It  is,  in  fact, 
the  great  balsam  of  existence,  "the  brook  that  runneth  by 
the  way,"  out  of  which  the  wearied  sons  of  Adam  may  all 
drink  comfort  and  refreshment  to  nerve  them  in  the  toils  of 
life's  parched  and  dusty  journey.  It  communicates  a  dignity 
and  calm  beauty  to  the  humblest  lot  ;  and  without  it  the 
loftiest  is  but  a  shining  desert. 

I  myself  like  friendship  as  well  as  any  man  likes  it,  and  I 
feel  a  pleasure  in  reflecting  that  the  story  I  am  now  to  write 
will  aftbrd  one  well  authenticated  instance  of  that  noble 
sentiment.  Not  that  by  this  remark  I  mean  to  excite  un- 
founded expectation,  nor  that  I  have  aught  very  marvellous 
to  say  either  about  passions  of  the  mind  or  exploits  display- 
ing them.  I  have,  in  truth,  no  moving  tragedy  to  set  forth ; 
no  deed  of  heroism  or  high  adventure ;  nothing  of  your 
Pythias  and  Damon,  your  Theseus  and  Pirithous.  My  heroes 
were  not  kings  of  Athens  or  Children  of  the  Cloud  ;  but 
honest  Lairds  of  Annandale.  They  never  braved  the  rage  of 
Dionysius  dooming   them  to  die,  never  went  down  to  Hades 

1  Fraser's  Magazine,  January  1831. 


16S 


CRUTHERS    AND    JONSON  169 

that  they  might  flirt  with  rroserpine,  or  slaughter  the 
mastiff  Cerberus  :  yet  they  were  true  men  "  in  their  own 
humble  way  " ;  men  tried  in  good  and  evil  hap,  and  not  found 
wanting ;  their  history  seems  curious  enough,  if  I  can  tell 
it  rightly,  to  deserve  some  three  minutes  of  attention  from 
an  idle  man  ;  especially  in  times  so  stupid  and  prosaic  as 
these ;  times  of  monotony  and  safety,  and  matter  of  fact, 
where  affections  are  measured  by  the  tale  of  guineas,  where 
people's  fortunes  are  exalted,  and  their  purposes  achieved  by 
the  force,  not  of  the  arm  or  of  the  heart ;  but  of  the 
spinning-jenny  and  the  steam-engine.  I  proceed  with  my 
narrative. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  last  century,  the  parish  school- 
house  of  Hoddam,  a  low  squat  building  by  the  Edinburgh 
highway  side,  could  number  among  its  daily  visitants  two 
boys  of  the  names  of  Cruthers  and  Jonson,  who  at  first  agreed 
in  nothing,  except  in  the  firm  determination  shown  by  each 
to  admit  of  no  superior.  Such  a  principle,  maintained  by 
one  individual,  might  possibly  have  led  to  very  pleasing 
results,  in  so  far  as  that  one  was  concerned  :  maintained  h\ 
two,  it  led  to  nothing  but  broils  and  bickerings,  hard  words 
and  harder  _blows.  Without  end  or  number  were  their 
squabbles.  In  every  feat  of  scholarship  or  mischief,  whether 
it  were  to  expound  the  venerable  Dilworth's  system  of  arith- 
metic within  doors,  or  to  work  some  devilry  without ;  to 
lead  the  rival  gangs  of  "English  men  and  Scots,"  to  clank  the 
old  kirk-bell,  or  venture  on  the  highest  and  brittlest  boughs 
of  the  ash-trees  and  yews  that  grew  around,  still  these  two 
were  violent  competitors,  and  by  their  striving  far  outstript 
the  rest.  Frequently,  of  course,  they  came  to  sparring,  in 
which  they  would  exhibit  all  the  energy  and  animation  of 
Entellus  and  Dares,  or  even  of  Molyneux  and  Crib.  The  boy 
Cruthers  was  decidedly  the  better  boxer  ;  he  was  stronger  than 
Jonson,  could  beat  him  whenever  he  chose ;  and  in  time  came 
to  choose  it  very  often.  Jonson  had  more  of  the  Socratic 
than  of  the  Stoic  philosopher  in  his  turn  of  mind  :  he  could 


170  MISCELLANIES 

not  say  "thou  mayest  beat  the  case  of  Jonson — himself 
thou  canst  not  reach  "  ;  on  the  contrary,  he  felt  too  clearly 
that  himself  was  reached,  and  as  all  his  attempts  to  remedy 
the  evil  but  made  it  Avorse,  the  exasperation  of  his  little  heart 
was  extreme.  On  one  occasion,  when  the  fortune  of  battle 
had  again  declared  against  him,  and  Cruthers  was  thrashing 
his  outward  man  with  more  than  usual  vigour,  poor  Jonson 
started  from  his  grasp  all  covered  with  bruises,  and  clenching 
his  fist  in  the  face  of  his  enemy,  he  swore,  with  the  tears 
streaming  from  his  eyes,  and  in  a  voice  half-choked  by  sobs, 
that  before  the  sun  went  down  Cruthers  should  rue  this.  So 
threatening  he  went  away. 

It  was  morning  when  this  occurred,  and  the  comments  on 
it  did  not  cease  till  the  arrival  of  the  redoubted  Mr.  Scroggs, 
the  gaunt  and  sallow-visaged  Dominie,  in  whose  presence  all 
jarring  passions  died  into  a  timid  calm.  I  know  not  what 
feelings  Cruthers  had  while  the  hours  rolled  on,  or  whether  he 
had  any  ;  but  apparently  they  were  forgotten,  Avhen,  at  mid- 
day, Jonson's  absence  had  not  been  inquired  into,  and  the  hot 
cabin  vomited  forth  its  exulting  population  to  frolic  their 
gamesome  hour  beneath  the  clear  summer  sky.  Of  the  boys, 
some  arranged  themselves  for  pitch-and-toss,  some  preferred 
marbles,  others  shinty ;  the  girls  produced  their  skipping- 
ropes,  or  set  to  pile  their  bits  of  crockery  into  a  "  dresser  " ; 
in  short  the  whole  "  green  "  was  swarming  with  a  noisy  throng 
of  little  men  and  little  women,  all  bustling  because  each 
corner  of  the  earth  was  yet  full  of  motives  to  allure  them ; 
all  happy  because  they  had  not  yet  been  smitten  with  the 
curse  of  passions  or  the  malady  of  thought.  The  grim 
carrier,  as  he  drove  his  groaning  wain  past  them,  and  trailed 
his  own  weary  limbs  over  the  burnt  highway  along  with  it, 
wondered  why  the  deuce  they  did  not  go  to  sleep  when  they 
could  get  it  done.  The  laird  himself,  as  he  whirled  by  in 
a  cloud  of  dust,  with  his  steeds,  his  beef-eaters,  and  his 
paraphernalia,  looked  out  from  his  yellow  chariot  upon  them, 
then  within  upon  his  own  sick  and  sated  soul,  and  would  have 


CRUTHERS    AND    JONSON  171 

cursed  the  merry  brats,  had  he  not  consoled  himself  by  recol- 
lecting that,  in  a  few  years,  want,  and  hardship,  and  folly, 
would  make  them  all  as  wretched  as  plenty,  and  pleasure,  and 
folly  had  made  him.  In  fact,  it  was  a  scene  which  Mr. 
Wordsworth  would  have  gone  some  miles  to  see ;  would  have 
whined  over  for  a  considerable  time ;  and  most  likely  would 
have  written  a  sonnet  or  two  upon. 

But  nothing  earthly  is  destined  to  continue  :  the  flight 
of  a  given  number  of  minutes  would  have  put  an  end  to 
all  this  revelry  at  any  rate ;  an  unexpected  incident  put  an 
end  to  it  more  effectually  and  sooner.  The  game  Avas  at  the 
hottest ;  chuck-farthing  waxed  more  interesting  every  moment, 
rope-skipping  was  become  a  rage,  shinties  were  flying  in  frag- 
ments, shins  were  being  broken,  all  was  tumult,  happiness, 
and  hurly-burly,  when  all  at  once  the  vanquished  Jonson 
appeared  upon  the  Green,  with  a  fierce  though  sedate  look 
upon  his  countenance,  and  what  was  worse — a  large  horse- 
pistol  in  his  hand  !  All  paused  at  sight  of  him  ;  the  younger 
boys  and  all  the  girls  uttered  a  short  shrill  shriek,  and 
Cruthers  grew  as  pale  as  milk.  What  might  have  been  the 
issue  is  uncertain,  for  the  sudden  silence  and  the  short  shriek 
had  in  them  something  strange  enough  to  alarm  the  vigilance 
of  Mr.  Scroggs — busy  at  the  time  within  doors,  expounding 
to  the  Ecclefechan  exciseman  some  more  abstruse  departments 
of  the  mystery  of  gauging.  Throwing  down  his  text-book, 
that  invaluable  compend,  the  Young  Mail's  Best  Companion, 
he  forthwith  sallied  from  his  noon-tide  privacy,  and  solemnly 
inquired  what  teas  the  matter.  The  matter  was  investigated, 
the  pistol  given  up,  and  after  infinite  higgling  the  truth 
flashed  out  as  clear  as  day.  The  Dominie's  jaw  sank  a 
considerable  fraction  of  an  ell ;  his  colour  went  and  came ; 
he  said,  with  a  hollow  tone,  "  The  Lord  be  near  us  ! "  and 
sat  down  upon  a  stone  by  the  wall-side,  clasping  his  temples 
with  both  his  hands,  and  then  stooping  till  he  grasped  the 
whole  firmly  between  his  knees,  to  try  if  he  could  possibly 
determine  what  was  to  be  done  in  this  strange  business.      He 


172  MISCELLANIES 

spoke  not  for  the  space  of  three  minutes  and  a  half;  the 
whole  meeting  was  silent  except  for  whispers ;  the  rivals  did 
not  even  whisper. 

B}'  degrees,  however,  when  the  first  whirl  of  terror  and 
confusion  had  a  little  subsided,  the  dim  outlines  of  the 
correct  decision  began  to  dawn  upon  the  bewildered  soul  of 
Mr.  Scroggs.  He  saw  that  one  of  the  boys  must  leave 
him  :  the  only  question  now  was  which.  He  knew  that 
Cruthers''s  father  was  a  staunch  yeoman.  Laird  of  Breconhill. 
which  he  ploughed  indeed  with  his  own  hands — but  in  a  way 
that  made  him  well  to  pass  in  money  matters,  that  enabled 
him  on  Sundays  to  ride  forth  upon  a  stout  sleek  nag,  to  pay 
his  way  on  all  occasions,  and  to  fear  no  man.  He  knew  at 
the  same  time  that  Jonson's  father  was  likewise  a  Laird,  and 
one  that  disdained  to  jilough  ;  but  also  that  though  his  rank 
was  higher,  his  purse  was  longer  in  the  neck  ;  that,  in  short, 
Knockhill  was  but  a  spendthrift ;  that  he  loved  to  hunt  and 
gamble ;  and  that  his  annual  consumpt  of  whisky  was  very 
great.  Mr.  Scroggs  was  a  gentleman  that  knew  the  world ; 
he  had  learned  to  calculate  the  power  of  men  and  their 
various  influences  upon  himself  and  the  public  ;  he  felt  the 
full  force  of  that  beautiful  proposition  in  arithmetic,  that 
one  and  one  make  two ;  he  at  length  made  up  his  mind. 
"  You,  Jonson,'"  said  he,  rising  gradually,  "  you  have  broken 
the  peace  of  the  school ;  you  have  been  a  quarrelsome  fellow, 
and  when  Cruthers  got  the  better  of  you,  in  place  of  yielding 
or  complaining  to  me,  you  have  gone  home  privily  and  pro- 
cured fire-arms,  with  intent,  as  I  conceive,  to  murder,  or  at 
least  mortally  affright,  a  fellow  Christian,  an  honest  man's 
child ;  which,  by  the  law  of  IVioses,  as  you  find  in  the 
Assembly's  Shorter  Catechism,  and  also  by  various  Acts  of 
Parliament,  is  a  very  heinous  crime  :  you  likewise  owe  me  two 
quarters  of  school-wages,  which  I  do  not  expect  you  will  ever 
pay ;  you  cannot  be  here  any  longer.  Go  your  ways,  sirrah, 
and  may  all  that  ""s  ill  among  us  go  with  you  ! " 

Apparently  this    most   frank    statement,  excited    no    very 


CRUTHERS    AND    JONS  ON  173 

definite  idea  in  Jonson's  mind  ;  at  least  he  stood  motionless 
on  hearing  it,  his  eyes  fixed  and  tearless,  his  teeth  clenched, 
his  nostrils  dilated,  all  his  frame  displaying  symptoms  of  some 
inward  agony  by  which  his  little  mind  was  torn,  but  indicat- 
ing no  settled  purpose  of  acting  either  this  way  or  that. 
IMost  persons  would  have  pitied  him  ;  but  Mr.  Scroggs  was 
free  from  that  infirmity  :  he  had  felt  no  pity  during  many 
years  for  any  but  himself.  Cruthers  was  younger  and  more 
generous  :  touched  to  the  quick  at  his  adversary's  forlorn 
situation,  he  stepped  forward  and  bravely  signified  that  him- 
self was  equally  to  blame,  promising,  moreover,  that  if  the 
past  could  be  forgiven,  he  would  so  live  with  Jonson  as  to 
give  no  cause  for  censure  in  the  future.  "  Let  us  both  stay," 
he  said,  "  and  we  will  never  quarrel  more."'"'  Tears  burst 
from  Jonson"'s  eyes  at  this  unexpected  proposal ;  the  Dominie 
himself,  surprised  and  pleased,  inquired  if  he  was  willing  to 
stand  by  it  ;  for  answer  he  stretched  out  his  hand  and 
grasped  that  of  Cruthers  in  silence.  "  Well !  blessed  are  the 
peacemakers,"'"'  observed  Mr.  Scroggs,  "  blessed  indeed, — see 
that  it  be  so — see  that,  etc.  etc.  Boys,"'"'  continued  he,  "  this 
is  a  braw  business  certainly  ;  these  two  callants  (gallants) 
have  done  very  manfully — hem  ! — you  shall  have  this  after- 
noon in  holiday  to — .""  A  universal  squeal  returned  him 
loud  and  shrill  acclaim ;  the  sun-burnt  urchins  capei-ed, 
pranced,  and  shouted  ;  in  their  souls  they  blessed  the  two 
rivals,  danced  round  them  for  a  few  minutes,  then  darted  off 
by  a  hundred  different  paths  ;  while  the  Dominie,  with  his 
raw-boned  pupil,  Mr.  Candlewick,  the  ganger,  returned  to 
their  studies,  with  fresh  alacrity. 

Not  so  Cruthers  and  Jonson.  They  were  left  together, 
glad  as  any  other  pair,  but  with  a  more  serious  gladness. 
They  were  not  in  haste  to  go  home,  having  much  to  tell  each 
other.  Two  grown-up  persons  would  have  felt  very  awkward 
in  their  place ;  would  have  hemm''d  and  haw'd,  and  said  a 
great  many  insipidities,  attempting,  perhaps  honestly,  to 
break  the  ice  of  ceremony,  but  in  vain — sincerely  desirous  to 


174  MISCELLANIES 

be  reconciled,  yet  obliged  to  part  chagrined  and  baffled,  and 
praying  mutually  that  they  might  never  meet  again.  The 
boys  managed  better.  In  a  moment  they  got  over  head  and 
ears  in  each  other's  confidence  ;  proposed  an  afternoon's  nesting- 
together  ;  strolled  over  the  green  fields  and  copses,  recapitu- 
lating all  the  while  their  former  feuds  and  conflicts,  each 
taking  the  whole  blame  upon  himself — communicating,  too, 
their  little  hopes  and  projects,  admiring  each  other  heartily, 
and  feeling  the  pleasure  of  talking  increase  every  moment. 
Wearied,  at  length,  by  wandering  in  many  a  shady  dingle, 
many  a  sunny  holm,  they  sat  down  upon  a  bright  green 
hillock,  in  the  midst  of  what  is  now  called  the  Duke's 
Meadow,  and  agreed  that  it  would  soon  be  time  to  part. 

It  was  a  lovely  evening,  as  I  have  been  told,  and  the  place 
itself  is  not  without  some  charms.  Around  them  lay  an  un- 
dulating tract  of  green  country,  sprinkled  with  trees  and 
white  cottages,  hanging  on  the  sunny  sides  of  the  declivities. 
Cattle  lowing  afar  off  in  the  closes ;  ploughmen  driving  home 
their  wearied  teams ;  and  columns  of  blue  peat-smoke,  rising 
from  every  chimney  within  sight,  gave  notice  that  the  good- 
wives  were  cooking  their  husbands'  frugal  supper.  In  front, 
the  Annan  rolled  to  the  eastward,  with  a  full  and  clear 
current,  a  shrill,  quiet,  rushing  tone,  through  woods  of  beech 
and  sycamore,  all  glancing  and  twinkling  in  the  evening 
sheen.  On  the  left  rose  Woodcockair,  to  which  the  rook 
was  making  wing,  and  Repentance  Hill,  with  its  old  Border 
watch-tower,  now  inhabited  by  ghosts  and  pigeons ;  while  to 
the  right,  and  far  away,  the  great  red  disc  of  the  sun,  among 
its  curtains  of  flaming  cloud,  was  hanging  over  the  shoulder 
of  Criffel,  and  casting  a  yellow,  golden  light  athwart  the 
whole  frith  of  Solway ;  on  the  other  side  of  which,  St. 
Bees'  Head,  with  all  the  merry  ports  and  granges  of  Cumber- 
land, swelled  gradually  up  into  the  hills,  where  Skiddaw,  and 
Helvellyn,  and  a  thousand  nameless  peaks,  towered  away  into 
the  azure  vault,  and  shone  as  if  they  had  been  something 
far  better  than  they  were. 


CRUTHERS    AND    JON  SON  175 

These  boys  were  no  poets.      Indeed,  except  the  author  of 
Lagg's  elegy  and  Macnay,  whose  ode,  beginning  with 

"A  joiner  lad  has  ta'en  a  trip 
Across  the  Atlantic  in  a  ship," 

— (not  a  cart,  or  washing-tub,  the  usual  method  of  convey- 
ance)— has  been  much  admired  by  the  literary  world,  Annan- 
dale  has  had  few  poets  of  note,  and  no  philosopher  but 
"  Henderson  Oil  the  Breeding-  of  Swine " ;  yet  the  beauty 
of  such  a  scene,  the  calm,  rich,  reposing  loveliness  of  nature, 
will  penetrate  into  the  dullest  heart.  These  poor  fellows  felt 
its  influence,  though  they  knew  it  not ;  disposing  them  to 
peace  and  friendliness,  and  generous  purposes,  beyond  the  low 
rudeness  of  their  customary  way  of  life.  They  took  each 
other's  hands — the  right  in  the  right,  the  left  in  the  left, 
crosswise,  though  they  had  no  leaning  to  Popery — and  there 
promised  solemnly  that  they  would  ever  be  friends,  would 
back  each  other  out  in  every  quarrel,  assist  each  other  in  purse 
and  person  while  they  lived  ;  and,  to  close  all,  they  added  a 
stipulation,  that  when  one  died,  the  other,  if  within  seas  at 
the  time,  should  see  his  comrade  quietly  laid  in  earth,  and 
their  friendship,  never  broken  in  this  world,  consigned  de- 
voutly to  the' prospects  of  a  better.  It  is  not  recorded,  that 
any  thunder  was  heard  in  the  sky  to  ratify  this  vow — any 
flight  of  eagles  to  the  right  hand  or  to  the  left — or  any  flight 
of  any  thing — except,  indeed,  the  flapping,  staggering,  hover- 
ing half-flight  of  an  old  and  care-worn  goose,  busily  engaged 
in  hatching  nine  addle  eggs  by  the  side  of  a  neighbouring 
brook,  and  just  then  issuing  forth  with  much  croaking,  and 
hissing,  and  blustering — less,  I  fear,  to  solemnise  their  engage- 
ment, than  to  seek  her  evening  ration,  of  which,  at  that 
particular  date,  she  felt  a  strong  and  very  urgent  need.  It 
were  pity  that  no  such  prodigy  occurred  ;  for  the  promise 
was  made  in  singular  circumstances,  and,  what  is  stranger 
still,  was  faithfully  observed.  Cruthers  and  Jonson  "never 
quarrelled  more."" 


176  MISCELLANIES 

I  lament  exceedingly  that  my  ambition  of  minuteness  and 
fidelity  has  led  me  to  spin  out  this  history  of  half  a  solar  day 
into  a  length  so  disproportionate.  I  lament  still  more,  that 
the  yawning  of  my  readers  warns  me  how  needful  it  is  to  be 
more  concise  in  future.  I  would  willingly  illustrate  by 
examples,  and  otherwise  dilate  upon,  the  friendship  of  these 
two  youths,  having  no  brothers  by  relationship,  but  now 
more  than  brothers  to  each  other.  A  multitude  of  battles 
fought  side  by  side — of  wild  passages  by  flood  and  field — of 
pranks,  and  gallantry,  and  roysterings  within  doors  and 
without,  which  the  faithful  records  of  tradition  still  keep 
note  of,  are  rising  on  my  fancy ;  but  I  must  waive  them  all. 
Suffice  it  to  conceive,  that,  through  the  usual  course  of  joy 
and  sorrow,  of  rustic  business,  rustic  pleasure — now  in  sun- 
shine, now  in  storm — the  two  striplings  had  expanded  into 
men ;  had  each  succeeded  to  his  father's  inheritance  ;  had 
each  'assumed  the  features  of  the  character  and  fortune  he 
was  like  to  bear  through  life, 

Cruthers  looked  upon  himself  as  a  fortunate  person.  He  had 
found  a  thriving  farm,  a  well-replenished  purse,  awaiting  him  ; 
he  possessed  an  active,  hardy  spirit,  and  "four  strong  bones'"; 
and,  having  no  rank  to  maintain,  no  man's  humour  but  his 
own  to  gratify,  he  felt  a  certain  sufficiency  and  well-provided - 
ness  about  him,  out  of  which  it  was  natural  that  a  sort  of 
careless  independence  and  frank  self-help  should  spring  and 
find  their  nourishment.  He  was,  in  fact,  a  ruddy-faced, 
strong-limbed,  large,  good-natured,  yet  indomitable  fellow. 
There  was  nothing  of  the  lion  in  his  aspect ;  yet  if  you  had 
looked  upon  his  broad  Scotch  countenance,  bespeaking  so 
much  force,  and  shrewdness,  and  unwearied  perseverance,  the 
substantial  snugness  of  his  attire,  the  attitude  of  slow,  un- 
pretending fearlessness  with  which  he  bore  himself — thei'e 
was  none  you  would  have  hesitated  more  to  injure,  none 
whose  enmity  and  friendship  would  have  seemed  more  strongly 
contrasted.  He  had  lately  married  a  buxom,  nut-brown 
maid  of  the  neighbourhood  ;  had  given  up  all  his  frolics,  and 


CRUTHERS    AND    JONSON  177 

was  now  become  a  staid  and  solid  yeoman.  He  speculated  little 
upon  what  are  called  general  subjects.  He  knew  nothing 
of  the  "  political  relations  of  Europe,'"  or  the  "  balance  of 
the  British  constitution " ;  but  he  understood  the  prices  of 
grain  and  farm  produce  at  all  the  markets  of  the  county,  and 
could  predict  the  issue  of  Broughhill  and  St.  Faith's  cattle 
fairs  with  a  spirit  which  resembled  that  of  prophecy.  He 
considered  little  what  might  be  the  foundation  of  morals,  or 
the  evidence  for  the  immortality  of  the  soul ;  but  he  paid 
his  teinds  duly,  and  went  to  church  every  Sunday.  He  loved 
his  wife  and  dependants  with  a  strong  and  honest,  though  a 
rude  affection  ;  and  would  have  lent  his  friend  a  score  or  two 
of  guineas  as  willingly  as  any  man. 

With  Jonson  again  all  this  was  different.  Heir  to  a 
dilapidated  fortune  and  a  higher  title,  his  first  effort  was  to 
retrieve  the  one  that  he  might  support  the  other.  Baffled  in 
this  laudable  attempt,  baffled  after  long  and  zealous  perse- 
verance, he  experienced  a  chagrin,  which  but  for  the  honest 
cordiality  of  his  nature,  would  have  made  him  a  mis- 
anthropist. It  grieved  him  to  look  upon  the  bright  glades 
and  meadows  of  Knockhill,  to  think  that  he  had  received 
them  from  a  long  line  of  ancestors,  and  most  probably  must 
transmit  them  to  the  auctioneer.  He  had  aimed  at  many 
high  adventurous  objects ;  had  meant  to  be  a  soldier,  a  man 
of  the  sea,  or  at  least  a  rich  and  happy  squire.  He  now  saw 
himself  condemned  to  be  a  nameless  thing — perhaps  a  bank- 
rupt and  a  beggar.  These  thoughts  galled  him  sorely,  they 
had  vexed  him  to  the  very  heart  :  yet  what  was  to  be  done  ? 
Zeno  would  have  counselled  him  to  suffer  and  abstain ; 
Jonson  determined  to  do  neither.  Unprepared  to  meet  and 
vanquish  the  spectre  Care,  he  studied  to  avoid  it :  he  hunted, 
rode,  and  visited ;  let  debts  and  mortgages  accumulate  as 
they  would  ;  he  talked,  and  trifled,  and  frolicked,  studying  to 
still  uneasy  thoughts  by  every  method  in  his  power.  Yet 
unsuccessfully.  He  had  a  keen  and  sensitive,  though  volatile 
and  gamesome  mind  within  him  ;  an  active  longing  temper, 

VOL.  V.  M 


178  MISCELLANIES 

and  an  aimless  life.  It  is  hard  to  exist  in  quietness  without 
a  purpose ;  hard  to  cast  away  anticipation  when  you  have 
nothing  to  hope ;  harder  still  when  you  have  every  thing  to 
fear.  Jonson  could  not  keep  himself  at  peace  in  idleness, 
and  he  had  nought  to  do.  It  seemed  probable  that  he  would 
take  to  whisky,  and  the  seduction  of  serving-maids  at  last, 
and  men  who  looked  upon  him  grieved  at  this.  He  was  in 
truth  a  tall,  stately,  gallant-looking  person  as  you  could  have 
seen ;  his  dark  thick  locks,  his  smooth  and  mild  yet  proud 
and  spirit-speaking  face  ;  his  quick  blue  eyes,  through  which 
the  soul  "  peeped  wildly,"  speaking  to  the  careless  but  of 
gaiety  and  wit,  and  young  cheerfulness ;  but  to  others, 
speaking  of  a  deep  and  silent  pool  of  sorrow,  over  which 
mirth  was  playing  only  as  a  fitful  sunbeam  to  gild,  not  to 
warm  ;  all  this  inspii-ed  you  at  first  sight  with  an  interest  in 
him,  which  his  courteous,  though  quaint  and  jestful  manners, 
his  affectionate  and  generous  temper,  converted  into  per- 
manent goodwill.  He  was  accordingly  a  universal  favourite ; 
yet  he  lived  unhappily  as  unprofitably  ;  restless  yet  inactive ; 
ever  gay  without ;  yet  ever  dreary,  often  dark  within.  His 
disposition  and  his  fortune  seemed  quite  at  variance  :  men  of 
prudence  and  worldly  wisdom  would  shake  their  heads  when- 
ever you  pronounced  his  name. 

Such  was  the  state  of  matters  at  the  beo-inning;  of  the 
memorable  year  1745.  It  appears  strange,  that  the  conduct 
of  Maria  Theresa  and  the  elector  of  Bavaria  should  have  in- 
fluenced the  conduct  of  the  Laird  of  Knockhill  :  yet  so  it 
Avas,  for  all  things  are  hooked  together  in  this  world.  Mathe- 
maticians say  you  cannot  let  your  penknife  drop  without 
moving  the  entire  solar  system  ;  and  I  have  heard  it  proved 
by  logicians,  who  distinguished  strongly  between  what  was 
imperceptible  and  what  was  null,  that  you  could  not  tie  your 
neckcloth  well  or  ill,  without  in  time  communicating  some 
impressions  of  it  to  all  the  generations  of  the  world.  So 
much  for  causes  and  effects ;  concerning  which  see  the  meta- 
physicians of  Edinburgh,  who  have  illuminated  this  matter. 


CRUTHERS    AND    JON  SON  179 

in  my  humble  opinion,  with  a  philosophic  precision  for  which 
the  world  cannot  be  too  grateful.  Jonson  knew  or  cared 
nothing  about  metaphysics :  but  the  echo  of  the  Highland 
bagpipe  screwing  forth  its  wild  tune,  "  Welcome  Royal 
Charlie,"  was  to  him  what  the  first  red  streak  of  the  morn- 
ing is  to  a  man,  who  being  unfortunately  overtaken  with 
liquor  overnight,  has  wandered  long,  long  through  bogs  and 
quagmires,  and  scraggy  moors ;  and  thought  the  day  was  not 
intending  to  break  at  all.  Jonson  was  but  half  a  Jacobite ; 
but  he  was  wholly  sick  of  idleness.  Beyond  a  kind  of  natural 
partiality  for  the  descendant  of  his  ozoii  kings — increased  too 
and  purified  in  his  eyes  by  hereditary  feelings,  and  the  prefer- 
ence of  a  bold  heroic  character,  like  Charles  Edward  to  the 
"  lumpish  thick-headed  German  Laird  "  whom  they  had  made 
a  sovereign  of  at  I>ondon — he  cared  little  about  Guelf  or 
Stewart :  but  he  thought  there  would  be  cutting  and  slashing 
in  abundance,  before  the  thing  was  settled  ;  he  longed  to  put 
in  his  sickle  in  this  stormy  harvest,  and  to  gather  riches  and 
renown,  or  fierce  adventure  and  a  speedy  fate  along  with  the 
rest.  So  he  stored  his  purse  wdth  all  the  guineas  he  had  in 
the  world  ;  put  a  few  articles  of  dress  in  his  saddle  bags,  a 
pair  of  pistols  in  the  bow  ;  begirt  himself  wdth  an  old  Ferrara 
of  his  grandfather's,  mounted  his  best  horse,  and  arrived  in 
Edinburgh  the  same  day  with  Prince  Charles. 

No  doubt  the  "  modern  Athens '"  showed  a  curious  face  on 
that  occasion.  Would  that  I  might  describe  the  look  things 
had  !  the  odd  mixture  of  alarm,  astonishment,  inquisitiveness, 
and  caution ;  the  flight  of  Duncan  Forbes  and  the  public 
functionaries,  with  all  their  signets,  mares,  wigs,  and  rolls, 
tag-rag  and  bobtail ;  the  burghers  shutting  up  their  shops 
and  hastily  secreting  their  goods  and  chattels  ;  the  rabble 
crowding  every  street,  intent  on  witnessing  the  show,  as  they 
could  lose  nothing  by  it ;  the  wild,  rusty,  withered  red  shanks 
of  the  mountains  mingled  with  them,  wonderstruck  at  the 
sight  of  slated  houses,  and  men  with  clothes  on,  yet  ever 
mindful  of  their  need    of   prog — seeking    snuff,  and  brim- 


180  MISCELLANIES 

stone,  and  herrings,  in  tones  which  you  would  have  supposed 
mere  human  organs  incapable  of  uttering,  but  with  looks 
which  told  their  meaning  well  enough ;  horses,  carts,  and 
coaches  rushing  on ;  men,  women,  and  children,  gaping, 
gazing,  wondering,  hurrying ;  bugles,  cannons,  bagpipes, 
drums ;  tumult,  uproar,  and  confusion  worse  confounded ! 
But  I  must  forbear  dilating  on  these  matters  :  it  is  enough 
for  me  that  Jonson  was  received  with  pleasure  as  a  volunteer ; 
presented  with  the  Prince's  hand  to  kiss,  and  enrolled  among 
his  troop  of  horse,  in  which  certainly  there  was  no  more  hope- 
ful cavalier  to  be  discovered  from  one  end  to  the  other. 

Jonson  never  liked  to  speak  much  about  Prestonpans :  he 
felt  a  natural  reserve  on  that  point.  Once  or  twice,  however, 
he  was  known  to  compare  notes  on  the  affair  with  the  Eccle- 
fechan  barber,  a  long-necked,  purse-mouthed,  tall,  thin  lath 
of  a  man,  who  had  been  there  also  as  a  private  soldier  on  the 
other  side.  The  barber  candidly  admitted,  that  he  knew 
little  of  the  matter  :  he  was  aroused  from  his  grassy  bed, 
early  in  a  cold  raw  morning  by  a  furious  shriek  of  the 
Highlanders,  and  a  desire  from  his  own  sergeant  (accompanied 
by  a  kick  on  the  side),  that  he  would  "  stand  to  his  arms  " ; 
which  he,  though  little  zealous  in  the  cause,  yet  making 
shift  to  gather  his  long  spider  limbs  together,  did  at  length 
accomplish ;  he  fired  twice,  though  without  taking  aim, 
indeed  the  second  time  without  loadino; :  being  a  srood  deal 
struck  by  the  grandeur  of  the  scene,  and  the  whirling  and 
screaming  of  the  Celts  on  that  side  ;  but  looking  round  to 
see  what  was  going  on  in  the  rear,  he  clearly  discerned  across 
the  open  space  his  beloved  general,  galloping  as  fast  as  four 
feet  could  carry  him,  in  the  direction  not  of  the  rebels  but  of 
Dunbar,  and  right  against  the  wind  as  it  seemed,  for  his  tie 
wig  with  all  its  tails,  and  bobs,  and  tassels,  was  to  be  seen 
floating  out  behind  him  m  Jth  a  most  free  expansion  of  all  its 
parts.  Whereupon  the  barber,  mindful  of  the  precept  he 
had  learned  at  school,  miliUnn  est  suo  duci  parere,  followed 
after  his  commanding  officer,  to  get  orders,  I  suppose,  throw- 


CRUTHERS    AND    JON  SON  181 

ing  down  his  gun  that  he  miglit  go  the  faster.  They  talked 
of  hanging  or  shooting  him  for  this  afterwards  ;  but  fate  was 
kinder  to  him  than  he  thought  :  he  returned  unhurt  to  his 
own  country,  where  he  brayed  out  church-music  every  Sunday, 
and  shaved  or  flayed  some  hundred  sandy  beards  every  Satur- 
day for  many  years. 

Jonson  on  the  other  hand  declared,  that  it  was  rather 
frightful,  but  very  grand  to  see  the  fire  of  the  red  coats 
rolling  and  flashing  through  the  grey  dawn  :  the  first  volley 
killed  his  right-hand  man ;  and  the  whole  mass  stood  so 
compactly,  and  seemed  to  act  so  simultaneously,  it  was  almost 
like  some  immense  fiery  serpent  of  the  nether  abyss,  spitting 
forth  a  quick  destruction  in  the  faces  of  all  who  approached 
it.  But  he  soon  lost  heed  of  it :  the  irregular  shots  and 
volleys  bursting  from  his  own  party,  the  scream  of  a  hundred 
bagpipes  between-whiles,  the  tramp  of  horse  and  foot,  the 
jostling,  crushing,  shouting,  yelling,  soon  made  him  mad  as 
any  of  them  ;  and  he  dashed  against  the  enemy,  in  a  sort  of 
frenzy,  forgetful  of  all  moments  and  all  places  but  the  present. 
Of  his  deeds  and  sufferings  in  the  fight  he  seldom  spoke  : 
but  there  is  one  incident  which  I  learned  from  another 
quarter,  anJ  nmst  not  here  omit.  The  Prince's  or  Pretender's 
cavalry  being  in  the  very  hottest  of  the  mcUe,  came  upon  the 
volunteer  troop  of  Glasgow  fusiliers,  which  still  maintained 
their  ground,  partly  because  they  were  too  heavy  for  running 
well.  The  colonel  of  this  gallant  corps,  mounted  on  a  huge 
stalking  Sleswick  horse,  and  wrapt  up  in  the  folds  of  a  large 
felt  great-coat,  rode  out  and  struck  about  him  furiously,  not 
in  the  etoccado  and  passado  way,  but  in  circles  and  curves,  to 
the  right  and  to  the  left,  above  him  and  below,  so  that  his 
iron  seemed  every  where  and  no  where  ;  and  had  his  strength 
continued,  he  might  have  beggared  all  attack,  and  formed  a 
kind  of  living  cheval-de-frise.  His  weapon  struck  Jonson  on 
the  head,  with  a  force  which  assured  the  latter  that  his  skull 
was  fractured ;  whereupon  aiming  a  dreadful  blow  at  the 
manufacturer,  he  hewed  off'  as  it  seemed  a  whole  flank   from 


182  MISCELLANIES 

him,  and  sent  his  horse,  on  which  he  still  stuck  as  if  by 
miracle  for  a  few  seconds,  to  the  remotest  corner  of  the  field. 
The  Glasgow  fusiliers  set  up  a  doleful  cry,  and  then  laid 
down  their  arms.  Jonson  did  not  fall,  but  found  his 
hat  had  lost  half  the  crown,  and  the  whole  right  side  of  the 
brim  ;  and  the  Glasgow  colonel's  left  quarter  proved  to  be 
in  truth  the  left  pocket  and  skirt  of  his  felt  great -coat, 
smitten  off  at  the  expense  of  his  horse's  ribs  and  of  Jonson's 
blade,  and  found  to  enwrap  in  it  three  sandwiches,  some  five 
or  six  black  puddings,  one  tobacco  box,  and  a  very  superior 
flask  of  Antigua  rum.  The  colonel  lived  long  after,  making 
muslin  and  drinking  cold  punch  ;  but  his  surtout  was  rendered 
altogether  useless,  and  his  steed  halted  to  its  dying  day. 

Jonson  proceeded  with  the  left  division  of  the  Celts  into 
England,  where  was  much  harrying  and  spoiling,  much  hard- 
ship inflicted  and  sustained  ;  till,  in  the  county  of  Derby, 
they  turned  their  backs  on  London,  and  Jonson  began  to 
reckon  himself  a  broken  man.  Some  gloomy  thoughts  he 
had,  no  doubt,  but  there  existed  in  his  mind  a  native 
elasticity  which  kept  him  far  from  desponding :  besides  he 
was  inured  to  suffering,  had  walked  all  his  life  in  thorny 
ways ;  he  found  in  active  hardship,  and  bold  though  unsuc- 
cessful hazard  even  a  kind  of  pleasure,  when  contrasted  with 
the  cold  obstruction,  the  eating  care  under  which  he  had 
pined  so  long  already.  At  any  rate  he  believed  that  dark  re- 
flection was  a  misery  itself,  that  come  what  come  might,  a 
merry  heart  would  meet  it  best.  So  he  "  took  no  thought 
for  the  morrow";  but  laughed  and  jeered,  and  held  along, 
telling  his  companions  pleasant  stories  as  they  rode,  enjoying 
good  cheer  whenever  it  came  ;  which  indeed  was  seldom,  and 
comforting  himself  and  others  with  the  hopes  of  it,  when  it 
did  not  come.  At  Clifton  Moor,  his  last  sole  faithful 
servant,  his  "gallant  grey"  sank  down  and  bit  the  earth, 
by  the  bullet  of  an  English  carabine  :  Jonson  would  have 
hewed  the  thief  that  shot  it  into  fragments,  could  he  have 
found  him ;    but   he   could    not ;    so    he    walked    onward   to 


CRUTHERS    AND    JONSON  183 

Carlisle,  with  as  much  contentedness  as  he  could  muster. 
Here  he  found  the  Celts  in  very  low  spirits,  all  higgling 
about  who  should  be  left  in  the  "  garrison,"  as  they  called  it. 
Each  of  them  was  willing  to  be  hanged  the  last.  Jonson 
volunteered  immediately  to  stay  :  he  liked  not  travelling  on 
foot,  and  wished  at  any  rate  to  see  the  end  of  the  business  as 
soon  as  might  be.  Four  brick  walls  said  to  have  been  built 
by  the  worthy  Prince  Liiel^  in  this  his  caer,  or  fortress,  about 
the  time  of  Solomon,  King  of  Israel,  four  walls  so  old,  and 
three  venerable  honey-combed  guns,  which  but  for  the  date  of 
Swarz  the  Monk,  might  have  looked  equally  old  ;  the  whole 
manned  by  some  five-and-forty  meagre,  blear-eyed  Highland- 
men,  without  enough  of  powder,  and  destitute  of  snuff  or 
whisky,  could  be  expected  to  make  no  mighty  stand  against 
the  Duke  of  Cumberland  and  his  German  engineers.  Accord- 
ingly they  did  not.  That  mighty  prince,  so  venerated  for 
his  clemencies  in  the  north  country,  and  after  for  his  firm- 
ness of  soul  at  Kloster-sieben,  got  cannon  out  of  White- 
haven, and  battered  the  old  ugly  brick-kiln  of  a  castle  on 
every  side.  Jonson,  with  a  few  of  his  comrades,  thought  to 
make  some  answer  to  these  volleys,  and  stood  flourishing  their 
linstocks  ov'er  their  three  loaded  rusty  pieces  of  artillery  :  but 
the  issue  proved  unfortunate ;  one  burst  into  fragments  like  a 
potsherd,  knocking  out  an  eye  and  breaking  a  leg  of  the  ill- 
fated  gunner  ;  the  other  fired  indeed,  and  sent  a  twelve-pound 
shot  into  the  very  heart  of  a  neighbouring  peat-stack,  but 
sprang  back  from  its  carriage  at  the  same  instant,  and  over- 
turning a  spavined  baggage-horse  by  the  way,  plunged  far  into 
the  mud  of  the  deep  castle  well,  where  it  has  never  since  been 
heard  of;  while  Jonson's  with  a  smaller  effort  fired  also,  but 
through  the  touch-hole,  discharging  not  the  ball,  or  even  the 
wad,  but  a  whirlwind  of  smoky  flame,  which  seared  and  be- 
grimed the  bystanders,  leaving  Jonson  himself  unburnt  cer- 
tainly, but  black  as  a  raven  and  desperate  of  saving  the 
place.  So  they  yielded,  as  needs  men  must  who  cannot  resist 
any  longer  :    they  beat  the  chamade  duly,  and   before  night 


184  MISCELLANIES 

were  all  safely  accommodated  with  cells  in  the  donjon,  there 
to  await  the  decision  of  an  English  jury,  and  his  Majesty's 
commission  of  oyer  and  terminer,  which  followed  in  the  rear 
of  the  victors. 

Jonson  bore  his  imprisonment  and  the  prospect  of  his  death 
with  fortitude.  Weaker  men  than  he  have  found  means  to 
compose  themselves,  and  meet  the  extremity  of  fate  without 
complaint.  There  seems,  indeed,  to  be  something  in  the 
idea  of  grim  necessity,  which  silences  repining ;  when  you 
know  that  it  must  be,  your  sole  resource  is,  let  it  be. 
Jonson  had  not  read  Boethius  de  Consolatione  Philosophice,  or 
either  of  Mr.  Coleridge's  Za?/  Sermons ;  but  he  had  a  frank 
and  cheery  spirit  in  him,  and  a  stubborn  will,  and  these  were 
better.  Of  course  he  experienced  a  certain  overshadowing  of 
the  soul,  when  they  fettered  him  with  irons,  and  first  locked 
up  his  dungeon ;  some  dreary  yearnings  when  he  thought  of 
free  skies  and  fields,  and  merry  life ;  himself  shut  up  the 
while,  and  never  more  to  see  the  sun,  except  when  it  should 
light  him  to  his  doom.  Solitude  and  silence  gave  birth  to 
feelings  still  more  painful.  The  visions  of  early  hope  again 
dawned  in  all  their  brightness,  when  the  day  of  their  fulfil- 
ment was  cut  off  for  ever.  He  felt  it  hard  that  one  so  young, 
so  full  of  life  should  perish  miserably  ;  hard,  with  the  fierce 
consciousness  of  what  he  might  have  done,  might  still  do ; 
hard,  that  the  purposes,  the  powers,  the  boiling  ardour  of  his 
soul,  the  strong  cry  of  its  anguish,  should  be  smothered  alike, 
and  closed  in  by  dead  impediments  which  could  not,  could  not 
be  passed  over.  But  what  availed  its  hardness  ?  Who  would 
help  him?  Who  would  deliver.''  He  almost  wept  when  he 
thought  of  childish  carelessness  and  sports,  and  the  green 
sunny  braes  of  his  native  Annandale,  and  of  his  mother ; 
how  she  used  to  wrap  him  in  his  little  bed  at  nights,  and 
watch  over  him,  and  shield  him  from  every  danger.  Gone 
now  to  the  land  of  night  and  silence  !  and  he,  her  luckless 
boy,  clutched  in  the  iron  grasp  of  fate,  to  meet  his  stern 
doom,  alone,  unpitied,  uncared  for ;  the  few  true  hearts  that 


CRUTHERS    AND    JONSON  185 

still  loved  him,  fai'  away.  And  then,  to  die  !  to  mingle  with 
the  gloomy  ministers  of  the  unseen  world,  whose  nature  he 
knew  not,  but  whose  shadowy  manifestations  he  viewed  with 
awe  unspeakable  !  all  this  he  thought  of,  and  it  was  vain 
to  think  of  it — vain  to  gaze  and  ponder  over  the  abysses  of 
eternity,  the  black  and  shoreless  ocean  into  which  he  must 
soon  be  launched.  No  ray  would  strike  across  the  scene — or 
only  with  a  fitful  glimmer  which  but  made  it  ghastlier  and 
more  dubious ;  but  showed  it  to  be  a  place  of  dreariness  and 
doubt,  and  haggard  desolation,  to  which  he  must  soon  enter, 
and  whence  he  would  never  return. 

A  prey  to  these  and  worse  disquietudes,  poor  Jonson  felt 
all  the  misery  of  his  forlorn  situation.  Often  he  would  sit 
for  long  hours  innnersed  in  thought,  till  he  became  almost 
unconscious  of  external  things.  By  times  he  would  stamp 
quickly  and  sternly  across  the  damp  pavement  of  his  dungeon 
— by  times  he  would  pause,  and,  grasping  his  iron  gyves,  his 
countenance  would  darken  with  a  scowl  which  spoke  unutter- 
able things.  Of  immeasurable  agony  it  spoke.  But  of  craven 
yielding  to  it,  or  of  weak  despair  ?  No  !  he  never  yielded  to 
it — never  dreamt  of  yielding.  What  good  was  it  to  yield  "^ 
To  be  self-despised — to  be  triumphed  over — to  be  pitied  of 
the  scurvy  rabble  that  watched  him  !  This  would  have  stung 
him  worse  than  all.  He  could  not  make  his  heart  insensible, 
or  cleanse  it  of  "  that  perilous  stuff"  which  weighed  upon  it ; 
but  he  could  keep  it  silent^  and  his  only  consolation  was  in 
doing  so.  His  spirit  was  strong  and  honest,  if  not  stainless 
— his  life  had  not  been  spent  on  down — he  had  long  been 
learning  to  endure.  So  he  locked  up  his  thoughts,  whatever 
they  were,  w-ithin  himself — his  own  mind  was  the  only  witness 
of  its  conflicts.  I  know  not  if  he  doubted  the  motives  of 
some  ghostly  comforters — some  city  clergy  that  came  at  first 
to  visit  him,  and  urge  him  to  confession  and  repentance. 
Perhaps  he  had  not  faith  sufficient  in  their  nostrums — 
perhaps  his  Presbyterian  prejudice  was  shocked  at  the  pre- 
latical   formalities,   the   exceeding   primness    of   these    small 


186  MISCELLANIES 

people — tripping  in  so  gingerly,  with  their  shovel-hats  and 
silk  hose,  looking  so  precise  and  pragmatical — so  very  satisfied 
with  their  own  precious  lot  and  character.  At  any  rate  he 
would  not  trade  with  them  ;  refused  to  come  or  go  with  them 
at  all ;  he  welcomed  them  and  gave  them  leave  with  a  thou- 
sand civilities,  but  said  he  meant  to  meet  the  issue  on  his  own 
resources.  The  task  was  difficult,  but  he  effected  it.  No 
paltry  jailor,  no  little  dapper  parson  ever  saw  a  furrow  on 
his  countenance — ever  imagined  that  he  felt  one  twinge 
within.  He  talked  as  carelessly,  and  seemed  to  live  as  calmly, 
even  gaily,  as  man  could  talk  and  live. 

Thus  Jonson  passed  his  days  till  the  Judges  arrived,  and 
the  work  of  death  began  to  proceed  with  vigour.  Already 
many  of  his  comrades  had  gone  forth  to  Harribee,  and  bowed 
their  necks  beneath  the  axe  of  the  headsman  ;  when  he,  in 
his  turn,  was  haled  before  the  bar.  Of  the  crowded  court, 
some  gloomed  upon  him  ;  others  pitied  the  tall  and  gallant 
fellow  who  was  soon  to  lie  so  low  ;  the  most  looked  quietly 
on  as  at  a  scenic  spectacle,  which  was  very  solemn  and 
interesting — which  might  be  hard  for  some  of  the  actors,  but 
nothing  save  a  show  for  them.  The  guards  escorted  him — 
the  men  of  law  went  through  their  formularies.  At  length 
the  presiding  Judge  inquired,  xvhat  he  had  to  say  why  sentence 
should  not  pass  against  him  .'*  Jonson  answered,  that  he  had 
little  or  nothing  to  say  ;  he  believed  he  had  broken  their 
regulations — they  had  the  upper  hand  at  present,  and  he  saw 
not  why  they  should  not  work  their  will.  He  was  accordingly 
condemned  to  lose  his  head  within  three  days  ;  and  sent  back 
to  jirison  with  many  admonitions  (which  he  received  with 
great  composure  and  civility),  to  prepare  for  his  last  removal. 

How  different  was  the  state  of  Cruthers  in  the  mean  time. 
A  stranger  to  all  these  scenes  of  peril  and  adventure,  tilling 
the  clayey  acres  of  Breconhill,  he  cared  not  for  the  rise  or 
fall  of  dynasties.  He  had  never  meddled  for  the  Celtic  rebels, 
or  against  them,  with  his  will — had  quietly  seen  their  ragged 
gipsy  host  move  over  the  Cowdens  height   within  a  furlong 


CRUTHERS    AND    JONSON  187 

of  his  door — had  grumbled  and  cursed  a  little  when  their 
rear-guard  stole  three  sheep  from  him — and  heartily  wished 
them  at  the  devil  when  they  seized  upon  himself  as  a  man  of 
substance  that  might  benefit  their  cause,  and  carried  him 
down  with  them  to  Ecclefechan,  threatening  to  kill  him  if  he 
would  not  join  with  them,  or  pay  w^ell  for  a  dispensation. 
Whisky,  the  great  solvent  of  nature,  delivered  him  from 
this  latter  accident.  He  fairly  drank  five  of  them  beneath 
the  table  of  Curlie's  change-house,  and  felled  the  remaining 
three  to  the  earth,  with  a  fist  large  as  the  head  of  an  ox, 
and  potent  as  the  hannner  of  Thor;  then  sprang  to  the 
street — to  the  fields  — to  the  moors — and  ran  like  "  the  hind 
let  loose,""  and  never  saw  them  more. 

This  storm  blown  over,  Cruthers  betook  him  to  his  usual 
avocations,  and  went  out  and  came  in  as  if  there  had  been 
no  rebellion  in  the  land.  He  was  planted  by  his  clean 
hearth  one  evening,  before  a  bright  blazing  fire,  with  his 
youngest  boy  upon  his  knee,  the  goodwife  and  her  tidy  maids 
all  spinning  meanwhile,  "  studious  of  household  good,"  when 
a  neighbour  sauntered  in,  and  told,  by  way  of  news,  that 
"  KnockhiU  "  was  tried  and  sentenced  at  Carlisle.  The  heart 
of  Cruthers  smote  him  ;  he  had  been  too  careless  in  the  day 
of  his  friend's  extreme  need.  He  felt  a  coldness  within  when 
he  remembered  their  youthful  passages — their  promise,  and 
how  it  was  to  be  fulfilled.  He  arose,  and  gave  orders  to 
have  a  horse  ready  for  him  by  the  earliest  dawn.  The 
goodwife  attempted  to  dissuade  him,  by  talk  about  diffi- 
culties, dangers,  and  so  forth  ;  but  she  persisted  not — know- 
ing that  his  will,  once  fairly  spoken,  was  like  the  law  of  the 
Medes  and  Persians,  which  altereth  not. — Next  morning,  by 
daybreak,  he  was  on  the  road  to  Carlisle. 

It  was  late  at  night  when  he  grained  admittance  to  the 
prison.  Obstacles  he  had  met  with,  delays  and  formalities 
without  number.  These,  at  length  adjusted,  he  penetrated 
into  the  place — tired  and  jaded,  as  well  as  sad.  The  bolts 
and  doors  which  croaked  and  grated  as  they  moved,  the  low 


188  MISCELLANIES 

winding  passages  and  the  pale  and  doubtful  light  which  a  few 
lamps  shed  over  them,  sickened  his  free  heart  still  more.  In 
fine,  he  was  admitted  to  the  cell  of  his  conn*ade.  The  soul 
of  the  rude  yeoman  melted  at  the  sight ;  he  took  Jonson's 
hand  in  silence,  and  the  tears  trickled  down  his  hard  visage 
as  he  looked  round  upon  the  apparatus  of  captivity,  and 
thought  of  what  had  brought  him  to  view  it.  Jonson  was 
not  less  moved :  this  look  of  genuine  sympathy,  the  first 
shown  towards  him  for  many  days,  had  well-nigh  overpowered 
him  ;  it  broke  in  upon  the  harsh  and  stubborn  determina- 
tions with  which  he  had  meant  to  meet  the  catastrophe  of 
to-morrow ;  it  was  like  to  make  a  girl  of  him  too.  He 
hastened  to  begin  speaking  ;  and  succeeded,  by  degrees,  in 
dispelling  the  gloom  of  his  companion's  mind,  and  restoring 
the  serenity  of  his  own.  After  a  hundred  questions  and  re- 
plies, and  rejoinders,  from  both  parties,  about  old  occurrences 
and  late,  about  home  and  friends,  and  freedom  from  the  one, 
about  foes  and  durance,  and  a  prison  from  the  other,  when 
the  night  was  already  waning,  Jonson  paused,  and,  looking  at 
his  friend,  "  My  good  William,"  he  said,  "•  this  is  indeed  very 
kind  of  you ;  it  shows  me  that  you  are  a  true  man ;  long 
afterwards  your  own  mind  will  reward  you  for  it :  neverthe- 
less, it  may  not  be  :  these  bloodhounds  will  mark  you  if  you 
look  after  me  to-morrow,  or  show  any  symptoms  of  care 
for  me ;  they  will  bring  you  into  trouble  for  it,  and  it 
cannot  come  to  good.  I  recollect  our  promise  well — what 
a  bright  evening  that  was  ! — but  never  mind  ;  the  official 
people  will  find  a  place  to  lay  me  in — what  matters  it 
where  or  how  I  lie  ?  You  shall  stay  with  me  two  hours  here  ; 
then  mount — and  home,  while  the  way  is  clear.  Nay,  I 
insist  upon  it  ! ""  Cruthers  stoutly  rejected  this  command, 
declared  that  he  would  never  leave  him  in  this  extremity,  he 
cared  not  what  might  come  of  it ;  he  absolutely  would  not 
go.  Jonson  was  obliged  to  acquiesce  in  his  companion's 
honest  wilfulness ;  he  consented,  though  reluctantly,  and  the 
conversation  proceeded  as  before.      Cruthers  felt  amazed  at 


CRUTHERS    AND    JONS  ON  189 

his  mood  of  mind  :  there  was  no  sign  of  drooping  or  despon- 
dency in  him  ;  but  heartiness  and  cheerfulness  as  if  the  morrow- 
had  been  to  be  for  him  a  mere  common  day.  Nothing 
seemed  to  cloud  his  spirits — he  seemed  to  have  balanced  his 
accounts  with  this  world  and  the  next,  and  to  be  now  abiding 
his  stern  appointment  without  wavering.  In  fact,  his  mind 
felt  a  sort  of  exaltation — a  pride  in  what  it  had  already 
endured,  in  the  certainty  of  what  it  could  still  endure ;  and 
this  feeling  shed  a  degree  of  splendour  over  his  cloudy  horizon 
— gilded  with  a  kind  of  hope,  the  lowering  whirlwind  of  his 
thoughts,  which  had  well-nigh  mastered  him  at  first,  but  now 
was  sunk  into  a  "  grim  repose  " — to  awake  and  rage  but  once, 
for  a  few  short  moments  of  mortal  agony,  and  then  be  hushed 
for  ever.  He  had  roused  his  spirit  to  its  noblest  pitch  to 
meet  that  fierce,  though  brief  extremity  •  he  knew  that  he 
could  meet  it  rightly — and  then  his  task  was  done.  So  he 
felt  a  sullen  calmness  within,  a  fixed  intensity  of  purpose ; 
over  Avhich  a  cheerful  composure  with  those  that  loved  him,  a 
bitter  contempt  for  those  that  hated  him,  had  alike  some 
room  to  show  themselves,  and  thus  to  decorate  with  a  fit  and 
moving  interest  the  parting  hour  of  a  brave,  though  unhappy, 
man.  ^ 

The  former  disposition  he  was  now  exhibiting ;  the  latter 
he  had  soon  occasion  to  exhibit.  While  yet  speaking,  they 
were  interrupted  by  a  bustle  in  the  passage.  Presently  the 
door  opened  ;  and  the  turnkey,  a  rough  lean  savage  of  the 
country,  entered,  escorting  two  undertakers  with  a  coflin  :  it 
was  to  lie  there  till  wanted.  Jonson  viewed  it  with  a  smile ; 
was  afraid  it  would  be  too  short  :  "  you  see,""  said  he,  "  I  am 
six  feet  two,  or  thereby."  "  Short  ? ""  said  the  turnkey,  "  six 
feet  two  ! — recollect,  friend,  that  your  head  is  to  be  cut 
off  to-morrow,  and  stuck  upon  a  pike  over  the  gates."  "Very 
just,  my  dear  Spoonbill,"  replied  the  prisoner,  "  that  alters  the 
case  entirely.  You  are  a  judicious  man,  Captain  Spoonbill : 
I  might  have  forgot  that.  Heaven  keep  you,  my  beloved 
Spoonbill  !       You    have    done    here  ?  "       "  Yes  !  "       «  Then 


190  MISCELLANIES 

bless  us  with  your  absence,  noble  captain  !  retire — evacuate 
— vanish  ! — there  ! — peace  be  with  you,  best  of  all  the 
Spoonbills  !  " 

In  spite  of  this  interruption,  their  conversation  continued 
as  before.  Jonson  loaded  his  companion  with  commissions 
and  memorials  for  friends  and  dependants  ;  explained  his  own 
ideas  about  death  and  immortality — connecting  both  very 
strangely  with  recollections  of  the  world  he  was  just  about  to 
quit,  and  spreading  over  all  a  colouring  of  native  stout- 
heartedness and  good  humour,  which  astonished  Cruthers,  and 
deepened  the  sorrow  of  his  rude  but  kindly  heart,  as  he 
thought  that  so  frank,  and  true,  and  brave  a  spirit  must  never 
hold  communion  with  him  more.  It  was  far  in  the  morning 
when  Jonson  laid  himself  upon  his  hard  bed — to  seek,  for 
the  last  time  on  earth,  an  hour's  repose. 

Cruthers  watched,  meanwhile  ;  gathered  himself  within 
his  thick  surtout,  squeezed  on  his  hat,  and  sat  crouched 
together  in  the  dreariest  of  all  possible  moods.  He  looked 
upon  the  dungeon,  upon  the  coffin  ;  he  listened  in  the  deep 
and  dead  silence  of  the  place — nothing  was  heard  but  the 
breathing  of  his  friend,  now  sunk  in  sweet  forgetfulness, — 
and  the  slow  ticking  of  the  great  prison  clock,  each  heavy 
beat  of  which  seemed  to  be  striking  off  a  portion  of  the  small 
barrier  that  yet  separated  the  firm  land  of  time  from  the  great 
devouring  ocean  of  eternity.  He  shuddered  at  the  thought 
of  this  ;  he  tried  to  meditate  upon  the  hopes  of  another  life  : 
dim  shadows  floated  before  his  mind ;  but  the  past  and  the 
present  intermingled  with  the  future — each  fleeting  image 
chased  away  by  one  as  fleeting — the  wrecks  and  fragments  of 
all  thoughts  and  feelings  hovering  in  his  fancy — and  over- 
casting them  all,  a  sad  and  sable  hue  proceeding  from  the 
secret  consciousness  of  what  he  strove  to  banish  from  his 
contemplations.  He  sank  at  length  into  a  kind  of  stupor — 
that  state  where  pain  or  pleasure  continues,  but  their  agita- 
tions cease — where  feeling  is  no  longer  shapen  into  thought, 
but  the  mind  rolls  slowly  to  and  fro,  like  some  lake  which 


CRUTHERS    AND    JONS  ON  191 

the  tempest  has  just  given  over  breaking  into  billows,  but 
still,  though  abated,  keeps  in  motion.  He  had  not  slept, 
but  he  had  been  for  some  time  nearly  unconscious  of  external 
things,  when  his  reverie  was  broken  in  upon  by  a  loud  noise 
at  the  door  of  the  cell.  Starting  to  his  feet  in  a  paroxysm 
of  horrible  anticipation,  as  the  bolts  gave  way,  his  eye  lighted 
on  the  gaoler  and  another  person,  with  boots  and  spurs,  and 
a  toil-worn  aspect.  Surely  they  were  come  to  lead  his  friend 
to  Harribee  !  Without  waiting  to  investigate  their  purposes, 
he  seized  both,  scarce  knowing  what  he  did,  and  would  have 
knocked  their  heads  together,  and  then  against  the  floor,  had 
not  the  wail  they  made,  and  the  noise  of  their  entrance  roused 
Jonson  from  his  pallet ;  who  forthwith  interposing,  inquired 
what  the  matter  was,  and  if  the  hour  was  come  ?  "  Yes," 
said  Spoonbill,  "  foor  's  coom,  but  thou  's  neet  to."" — "  I  bring 
you  joyful  news,"  said  the  other,  "'you  are  saved  from  death  ! 
Observe  his  gracious  Majesty's  will  and  pleasure  ! — Read  !" 

Who  shall  describe  the  joy  of  these  two  friends  ?  None 
can  describe  it,  or  need,  for  all  can  conceive  it  well.  Cruthers 
blessed  the  King  a  thousand  times  ;  capered  and  stamped,  and 
exclaimed,  and  raved  for  about  an  hour ;  then  paused  a  little 
to  inquire -about  the  circumstances,  and  see  what  yet  re- 
mained to  be  done.  The  circumstances  were  quite  simple. 
The  court  of  London  had  ceased  to  fear,  and  grown  tired  of 
shedding  useless  blood  :  Jonson,  with  several  others,  were 
snatched  from  the  executioner,  their  sentence  being  changed 
from  death  into  a  forfeiture  of  all  their  pro})erty,  and  a  loss 
of  country — which  they  were  ordered  to  quit  without  delay. 

Behold  the  prisoner  then  again  set  free — again  about  to 
mingle  in  the  rushing  tide  of  life,  from  which  a  little  while 
ago  he  seemed  cut  oft'  for  ever.  His  first  sensation  was  glad- 
ness— vivid  and  unmingled  as  a  human  mind  can  feel :  his 
next  was  gladness  still,  but  dashed  by  cares  which  brought  it 
nearer  to  the  common  temper.  However,  he  was  now  un- 
shackled ;  he  saw  regrets  and  useless  ])ains  behind  him, 
difficulty  and  toil  before ;   but  he  had  got  back  the  conscious- 


192  MISCELLANIES 

ness  of  vigorous  and  active  existence,  he  felt  the  pulse  of  life 
beat  full  and  free  within  him,  and  that  was  happiness  of 
itself. 

At  any  rate  his  present  business  was  not  to  muse  and 
speculate,  but  to  determine  and  to  do.  In  about  a  week 
after  his  deliverance,  you  might  have  seen  him  busied  about 
many  tangible  concerns,  bustling  to  and  fro  for  many  pur- 
poses ;  and  at  length  hurrying  along  the  pier  of  Whitehaven 
to  step  on  board  of  a  stout  ship  bound  for  the  island  of 
Jamaica.  Cruthers  left  him — not  without  tears,  or  till  he 
had  forced  upon  him  all  the  money  in  his  purse ;  then 
mounted  the  stairs  of  the  lighthouse,  waved  his  hat  as  the 
vessel  cleared  the  head  of  the  battlements,  and  turned  his  face 
sorrowfully  towards  home.  Jonson  felt  a  bitter  pang  as  he 
parted  from  his  last  earthly  friend,  and  saw  himself  borne 
speedily  away  into  a  far  clime,  with  so  very  few  resources 
to  encounter  its  difficulties,  and  gain  a  footing  in  it.  He  was 
not  of  a  sentimental  humour  ;  but  he  did  sigh  when  he  saw, 
mellowed  and  azured  in  the  distance,  the  bright  fields  of  his 
native  land  ;  the  very  braes,  as  he  thought,  which  his  fathers 
had  held,  and  from  which  he  was  now  driven  like  an  outcast, 
never  to  behold  them  more.  But  reflections  and  regrets  were 
unavailing  :  he  had  left  the  old  world,  no  matter  how,  the 
only  question  was  what  plan  should  he  adopt  to  get  a  living 
in  the  new.  A  question  hard  to  answer !  All  was  obscure 
and  overcast :  he  knew  not  what  to  think.  He  used  to  walk 
the  deck  alone,  when  they  were  out  in  the  main  sea,  at  nights, 
in  the  clear  moonshine ;  now  looking  over  the  vast  blue 
dome  of  the  sky,  the  wide  and  wasteful  solitude  of  the 
everlasting  ocean  ;  now  listening  to  the  moaning  of  the  wind, 
the  crackling  of  the  cordage,  or  the  ship's  quick  ripple  as  she 
ploughed  the  trackless  deep  ;  now  catching  the  rough  chorus 
of  the  seamen  in  the  galley  on  the  watch,  or  their  speech 
subdued  into  a  kind  of  rude  solemnity  by  the  grandeur  and 
perils  of  the  scene ;  now  thinking  of  his  own  dreary  fate,  and 
striving  to  devise  some  remedy   for  it.      All   in   vain  !      He 


CIIUTHERS    AND    JONS  ON  193 

reached  the  shore  of  Kingston  without  any  plan  or  purpose — 
save  only  to  live  in  honesty,  by  some  means,  of  what  sort  he 
knew  not. 

Such  a  state  of  mind  was  little  favourable  for  enjoying  the 
beautiful  phases  which  the  island  successively  assumed  as  they 
approached  it.  Jonson  noticed  it,  indeed,  when  it  rose  like 
a  bright  shining  wedge,  at  the  rim  of  the  ocean,  sailing,  as  it 
seemed,  upon  a  fleecy  continent  of  clouds,  spread  all  around  ; 
he  watched  it  as  it  grew  higher  and  bluer,  till  the  successive 
ridges  of  its  mountains  became  revealed  to  him — rising  each 
above  the  other,  with  a  purer,  more  aerial  tint,  all  cut  with 
huge  rents  and  crags  and  airy  torrent-beds,  all  sprinkled  with 
deep  and  shadowy  foliage,  all  burning  in  the  light  of  a  tropi- 
cal sun  ;  houses  and  lawns  and  plantations  near  the  shore  ;  and, 
higher,  forests  and  rocks,  and  peaks  and  beetling  cliffs,  winding 
— winding  up  into  the  unfathomable  depths  of  air.  All  this 
he  saw,  and  not  without  some  feeling  of  its  grandeur ;  but 
humbler  cares  engaged  him,  cares  which  he  could  not  satisfy, 
and  could  not  silence.  It  grieved  him  when  they  came  to 
land,  to  see  the  bustle  and  gladness  of  every  other  but  him- 
self; every  other  seemed  to  have  an  object  and  a  hope  ;  he 
had  none.  "There  was  not  even  the  cold  welcome  of  an  inn 
to  greet  him  ;  Jamaica  had  no  inns  in  those  days  ;  the  mate 
had  gone  to  find  him  lodgings,  but  was  not  yet  returned  ;  he 
had  not  where  to  lay  his  head. 

Already  had  he  been  kicking  the  pebbles  of  the  beach,  up 
and  down  for  half  an  hour,  when  a  pleasant-looking,  elderly 
person  of  a  prosperous  appearance,  came  up  and  ventured  to 
accost  him.  This  was  Councillor  Herberts,  a  merchant  and 
planter  of  the  place,  come  out  to  take  his  evening  stroll. 
Jonson  looked  upon  the  man :  there  was  something  in  his  aspect 
which  attracted — an  appearance  of  easy  circumstances  and 
green  old  age — of  calm  judgment,  and  a  certain  grave  good- 
nature :  they  entered  into  conversation.  The  wanderer  ad- 
mitted that  he  was  not  happy — that,  in  fact,  it  was  ebb  tide 
with  him,  at  present ;  but  he  had  a  notion  things  would  mend. 

VOL.  v.  N 


194  MISCELLANIES 

The  planter  invited  him  to  come  and  eat  bread  in  his  house, 
which  stood  hard  by  ;  and  where,  he  said,  his  daughter  would 
be  happy  to  receive  them.  Talking  as  they  went,  they  got 
deeper  into  one  another^s  confidence.  The  fair  Margaret 
welcomed  her  father's  guest  with  a  bewitching  smile,  and  the 
father  himself  grew  more  satisfied  with  him  the  longer  they 
conversed.  He  inquired,  at  length,  if  his  new  friend  wrote 
well  ?  Jonson  asked  for  paper,  and,  without  delay,  in  a  fine 
flowing  hand,  set  down  this  venerable  stanza  of  Hebrew 
poetry : 

"  Blessed  is  he  that  wisely  doth 
The  poor  man's  case  consider  ; 
For  when  the  time  of  trouble  is. 
The  Lord  will  him  deliver." 

The  worthy  planter  perused  it  with  a  smile — seemed  to  think 
a  little — then  told  Jonson  that  he  was  in  want  of  such  a 
person,  and  proposed  to  employ  him  as  a  clerk.  The  day 
was  when  Jonson  would  have  spurned  at  such  an  offer,  but 
misfortune  had  tamed  him  now.  He  grasped  at  this,  almost 
as  gladly  as  at  any  ever  made  him — as  even  at  that  of  life 
within  the  prison  of  Carlisle.  He  sat  down  to  his  ledgers 
next  day. 

In  this  new  capacity  I  rejoice  to  say  that  Jonson  acquitted 
himself  manfully.  He  was  naturally  of  an  active  indefatigable 
turn ;  he  had  a  sound  methodical  judgment,  and  a  straight 
forward,  thorough  going  mode  of  action,  which  here  found 
their  proper  field.  Besides,  he  daily  loved  the  planter  and 
his  household  more,  the  more  he  knew  of  them  ;  and  grati- 
tude, as  well  as  interest,  called  upon  him  for  exertion.  In 
the  counting-rooms  and  warehouses,  accordingly,  he  soon 
became  an  indispensable.  It  would  have  done  any  one's  heart 
good,  to  see  how  he  would  lay  about  him  there — concluding 
bargains,  detecting  frauds,  devising  ways  and  means,  dashing 
every  obstacle  to  the  right  and  left,  advancing  to  his  object 
with  a  steady  progress  and  infallible  certainty.  These  were 
the   solid   qualities    of  his    mind    and   habitudes ;   the    more 


CRUTHERS    AND    JONSON  195 

superficial  but  scarcely  less  inijiortant,  were  of  an  equally 
valuable  sort.  I  have  already  called  him  good-natured  and 
courteous,  as  well  as  firm  and  fearless.  We  have  seen  that 
he  was  of  a  temper  disinclined  to  sadness  and  whining : 
thought  might  take  hold  of  him,  and  keenly,  but  he  never 
yielded  to  it,  he  made  a  point  to  cast  his  sorrows  from  him 
altogether  ;  or,  if  that  might  not  be,  to  hide  them  beneath 
a  veil  of  mockery  and  mirth  ;  therefore  he  seldom  and  spar- 
ingly drew  upon  the  sympathies  of  others,  but  rather  by  his 
sprightly  conversation,  and  his  bold,  determined  method  of 
proceeding,  gained  over  them  a  sure  dominion,  which  his 
goodness  of  heart  ever  kept  him  from  abusing.  His  adven- 
tures, too,  and  irregular  mode  of  life  had  given  a  dash  of 
wildness  to  his  speech  and  conduct,  which  enhanced  the 
interest  people  took  in  him.  He  had  still  at  hand  some 
stroke  of  gaiety,  some  wily  quip,  wherewith  to  meet  every 
emergency,  which  at  once  indicated  an  unknown  depth  of 
energy  and  self-possession,  and  resoui'ces,  and  gave  to  it  a 
peculiarly  frank  and  unpretending  aspect.  In  short,  he  grew 
a  universal  favourite,  at  once  respected  and  loved.  The  good 
planter  prompted  him  through  every  grade,  to  the  highest  in 
liis  establishment,  and  at  length  admitted  him  to  be  a  partner 
in  the  trade. 

Thus  Jonson  went  along — increasing  in  esteem,  in  kindness, 
and  goodwill  with  all  that  knew  him.  With  his  patron,  the 
Councillor  Herberts,  who  had  alike  obliged  him  and  been 
obliged  in  return,  he  stood  in  the  double  relation  of  the  giver 
and  receiver  of  gratitude,  and  therefore  could  not  wish  to 
stand  much  better :  but  wdth  the  Councillor's  young  and  only 
daughter,  the  beautiful  and  lively  Margaret  ?  How  did  she 
like  him  ?  Bright  airy  sylph  !  Kind,  generous  soul !  I 
could  have  loved  her  myself  if  I  had  seen  her.  Think  of 
a  slender  delicate  creature — formed  in  the  very  mould  of 
beauty — elegant  and  airy  in  her  movements  as  a  fawn  ;  black 
hair  and  eyes — ^jet  black  ;  her  face  meanwhile  as  pure  and  fair 
as  lilies — and  then  for  its  expression — how  shall  I  describe  it  ? 


196  MISCELLANIES 

Nothing  so  changeful,  nothing  so  lovely  in  all  its  changes  : 
one  moment  it  was  sprightly  gaiety,  quick  arch  humour, 
sharp  wrath,  the  most  contemptuous  indifference — then  all  at 
once  there  would  spread  over  it  a  celestial  gleam  of  warm 
affection,  deep  enthusiasm ; — every  feature  beamed  with 
tenderness  and  love,  her  eyes  and  looks  would  have  melted 
a  heart  of  stone  ;  but  ei'e  you  had  time  to  fall  down  and 
worship  them — poh  !  she  was  off  into  some  other  hemisphere 
— laughing  at  you — teasing  you — again  seeming  to  flit  round 
the  whole  universe  of  human  feeling,  and  to  sport  with  every 
part  of  it.  Oh  !  never  was  there  such  another  beautiful, 
cruel,  affectionate,  wicked,  adorable,  capricious  little  gipsy 
sent  into  this  world  for  the  delight  and  the  vexation  of 
mortal  man. 

My  own  admiration  is,  how  in  the  name  of  wonder  Jonson 
ever  got  her  wooed  ! — I  should  have  thought  it  the  most 
hopeless  task  in  nature.  Perhaps  he  had  a  singular  skill 
in  such  undertakings  :  at  any  rate  he  throve.  The  cynosure 
of  neighbouring  eyes,  the  apple  of  discord  to  all  bachelors 
within  many  leagues — richer  many  of  them  and  more  showy 
men  than  Jonson — preferred  Jonson  to  them  all.  Perhaps, 
like  Desdemona,  she  loved  him  for  the  dangers  he  had  passed  : 
at  all  events,  she  loved  him — loved  him  with  her  whole  soul, 
the  little  cozener — though  it  was  many  a  weary  day  before 
he  could  determine  whether  she  cared  one  straw  for  him  or 
not.  Her  father  saw  and  blessed  their  mutual  attachment. 
They  were  wedded ;  and  Jonson  felt  himself  the  happiest 
of  men. 

Good  fortune  now  flowed  on  Jonson.  His  father-in-law 
was  scarce  gathered  in  extreme  old  age  to  his  final  rest,  when 
news  arrived  from  Britain,  that  another  king  had  mounted 
the  throne,  that  Jacobitism  had  now  ceased  to  be  a  perse- 
cuted creed,  that  it  would  be  safe  for  Jonson,  if  he  chose  it, 
to  return.  The  estate  of  his  ancestors  moreover  was,  at 
that  very  time  exposed  to  sale.  What  inducements  !  His 
fair  Creole  had  lost  with  her  last   parent  the  only  hold  that 


CRUTHERS    AND    JONSON  197 

bound  her  firmly  to  Jamaica :  they  sold  their  property,  and 
embarked  for  Europe.  Knockhill  was  purchased  for  them, 
and  they  reached  it  in  safety.  What  a  hubbub  was  there  at 
the  brave  Laird's  home-come  !  What  bonfires  burnt  !  What 
floods  of  ale  and  stingo  !  What  mirth  and  glee  and  universal 
jubilee  !  He  had  left  it  poor  and  broken  and  sick  at  heart, 
and  going  down  to  death  ;  he  returned  rich,  powerful,  happy, 
and  at  his  side  "  the  fairest  of  the  fair."  The  rude  peasants 
blessed  his  lovely  bride,  she  herself  was  moved  with  their  affec- 
tion. Jonson  felt  himself  at  last  within  the  port :  he  collected 
all  the  scattered  elements  of  enjoyment,  which  fortune  had 
spread  around  him,  and  found  that  they  sufficed.  He  was 
tired  of  wandering,  glad  of  rest ;  he  built  a  stately  mansion 
which  still  adorns  the  place  ;  he  planted  and  improved  ;  he 
talked  and  speculated,  loved  and  was  beloved  again.  The 
squires  around  him  coveted  his  company  more  than  he  did 
theirs.  The  trusty  Cruthers,  who  had  stood  by  him  in  the 
hour  of  peril  and  distress,  was  the  first  to  hail  him  in  the 
season  of  prosperity.  Many  a  long  night  did  they  two  drive 
away,  in  talking  of  old  times,  of  moving  accidents,  of  wild 
adventures,  i"euds  and  hairbreadth  'scapes.  In  the  fervour  of 
his  recollections,  Jonson  would  fall  upon  his  knees  before  the 
lady  he  loved  best,  and  swear  that  she  was  dearer  to  him  still 
than  life,  or  aught  contained  in  it ;  that  she  had  found  him 
a  homeless  wanderer — had  made  him  all  he  \\'as  :  if  he  ever 
cease  to  serve  and  cherish  her  in  his  heart  of  hearts,  he 
should  be  the  veriest  dog  upon  the  surface  of  the  earth.  She 
would  smile  at  this,  and  ask  him  not  to  ruffle  the  carpet,  not 
to  soil  his  knees.  Cruthers  owned  that  it  made  his  eyes 
water. 

Here,  however,  I  must  end.  Do  you  ask  what  followed 
farther  ?  Where  these  people  now  are  ?  Alas  !  they  are 
all  dead  :  this  scene  of  blessedness  and  peace,  and  truth  of 
heart  is  passed  away  ;  it  was  beautiful,  but,  like  a  palace  of 
clouds  in  the  summer  sky,  the  north  wind  has  scattered  it 
asunder  and   driven   it  into  emptiness  and  air.       The  noble 


1 


198  MISCELLANIES 

Margaret  died  first :  Jonson  shortly  followed  her,  broken  down 
with  years  and  sorrow  for  his  loss.  Cruthers  shed  a  tear 
over  his  coffin  as  he  lowered  it  into  a  native  grave.  Cruthers, 
too,  is  dead ;  he  sank  like  a  shock  of  corn  fully  ripe ;  a 
specimen  of  the  "olden  worth,"  of  fearless  candour  and  sturdy, 
bold  integrity  to  his  latest  day.  Moss-grown  stones  lie  above 
these  friends,  and  scarcely  tell  the  passer  by  who  lie  below. 
They  sleep  there,  in  their  ever  silent  bed  of  rest ;  the  pageant 
of  their  history  is  vanished  like  the  baseless  fabric  of  a  dream. 
The  scene  which  they  once  peopled  and  adorned,  is  now- 
peopled  by  others.  Has  it  gained  by  the  change  ?  I  sigh 
when  I  look  at  the  representative  of  Cruthers,  his  grandson, 
a  sot  whom  he  despised.  Jonson  never  had  a  grandchild — 
his  father''s  fields  have  passed  into  the  hands  of  land-jobbers 
and  paltry  people  who  knew  not  Joseph.  I  look  on  the 
woods  he  planted,  and  the  houses  which  he  built,  and  muse 
upon  the  vast  and  dreary  vortex  of  this  world's  mutability. 
It  is  weak  to  do  so  : — 

"Muojono  le  citta,  muojono  i  regni, 

Copre  i  fasti  e  la  pompe  arena  ed  arba ; 
E  riiom  d'esser  mortal  par  che  si  sdegni ; 
O  nosti'a  mente  cupida  e  superba  !" 


EARLY   KINGS    OF   NORWAY 


EARLY   KINGS    OF   NORWAY^ 

The  Icelanders,  in  their  long  winter,  had  a  great  habit  of 
writing ;  and  were,  and  still  are,  excellent  in  penmanship,  says 
Dahhnann.  It  is  to  this  fact  that  any  little  history  there  is 
of  the  Norse  Kings  and  their  old  tragedies,  crimes,  and  hero- 
isms, is  almost  all  due.  The  Icelanders,  it  seems,  not  only 
made  beautiful  letters  on  their  paper  or  parchment,  but  were 
laudably  observant  and  desirous  of  accuracy ;  and  have  left  us 
such  a  collection  of  narratives  (Sagas,  literally  '  Says ')  as,  for 
quantity  and  quality,  is  unexampled  among  rude  nations. 
Snorro  Sturleson's  History  of  the  Norse  Kings  is  built  out  of 
these  old  Sagas  ;  and  has  in  it  a  great  deal  of  poetic  fire,  not 
a  little  faithful  sagacity  applied  in  sifting  and  adjusting  these 
old  Sagas ;  and,  in  a  word,  deserves,  were  it  once  well  edited, 
furnished  with  accurate  maps,  chronological  summaries,  etc., 
to  be  reckoned  among  the  great  history-books  of  the  world. 
It  is  from  these  sources,  greatly  aided  by  accurate,  learned, 
and  unwearied  Dahlmann,^  the  German  Professor,  that  the 
following  rough  notes  of  the  early  Norway  Kings  are  hastily 
thrown  together.  In  Histories  of  England  (Rapin's  excepted) 
next  to  nothing  has  been  shown  of  the  many  and  strong 
threads  of  connection  between  English  affairs  and  Norse. 

^  J.   G.   Dahlmann,    Geschichte  von   Ddnnema7-k,    3   voll.    Svo.      Hamburg, 
1840-3. 


201 


CHAPTER    I 

HARALD    HAARFAGR 

Till  about  the  Year  of  Grace  860  there  were  no  kings  in 
Norway,  nothing  but  numerous  jarls, — essentially  kinglets, — 
each  presiding  over  a  kind  of  republican  or  parliamentary 
little  territory ;  generally  striving  each  to  be  on  some  terms 
of  human  neighbourhood  with  those  about  him,  but, — in  spite 
of,  ^Fylke  Things''  (Folk  Things,  little  parish  parliaments), 
and  small  combinations  of  these,  which  had  gradually  formed 
themselves, — often  reduced  to  the  unhappy  state  of  quarrel 
with  them.  Harald  Haarfagr  was  the  first  to  put  an  end 
to  this  state  of  things,  and  become  memorable  and  profitable 
to  his  country  by  uniting  it  under  one  head  and  making  a 
kingdom  of  ir;  which  it  has  continued  to  be  ever  since.  His 
father,  Halfdan  the  Black,  had  already  begun  this  rough  but 
salutarv  process,  —  inspired  by  the  cupidities  and  instincts, 
by  the  faculties  and  opportunities,  which  the  good  genius  of 
this  world,  beneficent  often  enough  under  savage  forms,  and 
diligent  at  all  times  to  diminish  anarchy  as  the  world's  rvorst 
savagery,  usually  appoints  in  such  cases, — conquest,  hard  fight- 
ing, followed  by  wise  guidance  of  the  conquered  ; — but  it  was 
Harald  the  Fairhaired,  his  son,  who  conspicuously  carried  it 
on  and  completed  it.  Harald's  birth-year,  death-year,  and 
chronology  in  general,  are  known  only  by  inference  and  com- 
putation ;  but,  by  the  latest  reckoning,  he  died  about  the 
year  933  of  our  era,  a  man  of  eighty-three. 

The  business  of  conquest  lasted  Harald  about  twelve  years 
(a.d.  860-872  ?),  in  which  he  subdued  also  the  Vikings  of 
the    out-islands,    Orkneys,    Shetlands,    Hebrides,    and    Man. 


204        EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

Sixty  more  years  were  given  him  to  consolidate  and  regulate 
what  he  had  conquered,  which  he  did  with  great  judgment, 
industry,  and  success.  His  reign  altogether  is  counted  to 
have  been  of  over  seventy  years. 

The  beginning  of  his  great  adventure  was  of  a  romantic 
character, — youthful  love  for  the  beautiful  Gjda,  a  then 
glorious  and  famous  young  lady  of  those  regions,  whom  the 
young  Harald  aspired  to  marry.  Gyda  answered  his  embassy 
and  prayer  in  a  distant,  lofty  manner :  "  Her  it  would  not 
beseem  to  wed  any  Jarl  or  poor  creature  of  that  kind  ;  let 
him  do  as  Gorm  of  Denmark,  Eric  of  Sweden,  Egbert  of 
England,  and  others  had  done, — subdue  into  peace  and 
regulation  the  confused,  contentious  bits  of  jarls  round  him, 
and  become  a  king ;  then,  perhaps,  she  might  think  of  his 
proposal ;  till  then,  not."  Harald  was  struck  with  this 
proud  answer,  which  rendered  Gyda  tenfold  more  desirable 
to  him.  He  vowed  to  let  his  hair  grow,  never  to  cut  or  even 
to  comb  it  till  this  feat  were  done,  and  the  peerless  Gyda 
his  own.  He  proceeded  accordingly  to  conquer,  in  fierce 
battle,  a  Jarl  or  two  every  year,  and,  at  the  end  of  twelve 
years,  had  his  unkempt  (and  almost  unimaginable)  head  of 
hair  dipt  off, — Jarl  Rognwald  {Reginald)  of  More,  the  most 
valued  and  valuable  of  all  his  subject-jarls,  being  promoted  to 
this  sublime  barber  function ; — after  which  King  Harald, 
with  head  thoroughly  cleaned,  and  hair  grown,  or  growing 
again  to  the  luxuriant  beauty  that  had  no  equal  in  his  day, 
brought  home  his  Gyda,  and  made  her  the  brightest  queen 
in  all  the  north.  He  had  after  her,  in  succession,  or  perhaps 
even  simultaneously  in  some  cases,  at  least  six  other  wives ; 
and  by  Gyda  herself  one  daughter  and  four  sons. 

Harald  was  not  to  be  considered  a  strict-living  man,  and 
he  had  a  great  deal  of  trouble,  as  we  shall  see,  with  the 
tumultuous  ambition  of  his  sons;  but  he  managed  his 
government,  aided  by  Jarl  Rognwald  and  others,  in  a  large, 
quietly  potent,  and  successful  manner ;  and  it  lasted  in  this 
royal  form  till  his  death,  after  sixty  years  of  it. 


HARALU    HAARFAGR  205 

These  were  the  times  of  Norse  colonisation ;  proud  Norse- 
men flying  into  other  lands,  to  freer  scenes, — to  Iceland,  to 
the  Faroe  Islands,  which  were  hitherto  quite  vacant  (tenanted 
only  by  some  mournful  hermit,  Irish  Christian yaA'i?-,  or  so) ; 
still  more  copiously  to  the  Orkney  and  Shetland  Isles,  the 
Hebrides  and  other  countries  where  Norse  squatters  and 
settlers  already  were.  Settlement  of  Iceland,  we  say  ;  settle- 
ment of  the  Faroe  Islands,  and,  by  far  the  notablest  of  all, 
settlement  of  Normandy  by  Rolf  the  Ganger  (a.d  876).^ 

Rolf,  son  of  Rognwald,^  was  lord  of  thi'ee  little  islets  far 
north,  near  the  Fjord  of  Folden,  called  the  Three  Vigten 
Islands ;  but  his  chief  means  of  living  was  that  of  sea- 
robbery  ;  which,  or  at  least  Rolfs  conduct  in  which,  Harald 
did  not  approve  of.  In  the  Court  of  Harald,  sea-robbery 
was  strictly  forbidden  as  between  Harald's  own  countries, 
but  as  against  foreign  countries  it  continued  to  be  the  one 
profession  for  a  gentleman  ;  thus,  I  read,  Harald's  own  chief 
son.  King  Eric  that  afterwards  was,  had  been  at  sea  in  such 
employments  ever  since  his  twelfth  year.  Rolfs  crime,  how- 
ever, was  that  in  coming  home  from  one  of  these  expeditions, 
his  crew  having  fallen  short  of  victual,  Rolf  landed  with 
them  on  the  shore  of  Norway,  and,  in  his  strait,  drove  in 
some  cattle  there  (a  crime  by  law)  and  proceeded  to  kill 
and  eat ;  which,  in  a  little  while,  he  heard  that  King  Harald 
was  on  foot  to  inquire  into  and  punish ;  whereupon  Rolf 
the  Ganger  speedily  got  into  his  ships  again,  got  to  the  coast 
of  France  with  his  sea-robbers,  got  infeftment  by  the  poor 
King  of  France  in  the  fruitful,  shaggy  desert  which  is  since 
called  Normandy,  land  of  the  Northmen  ;  and  there,  gradually 
felling  the  forests,  banking  the  rivers,  tilling  the  fields,  became, 
during  the  next  two  centuries,  Wilhelmus  Conquaestor,  the 
man  famous  to  England,  and  momentous  at  this  day,  not  to 
England  alone,  but  to  all   speakers  of  the  English  tongue, 

1  '  Settlement,'  dated  912,  by  Munch,  Renault,  etc.  The  Saxon  Chronicle 
says  (anno  876) :  '  In  this  year  Rolf  overran  Normandy  with  his  army,  and  he 
reigned  fifty  winters.'  ^  Dahlmann,  ii.  87. 


206         EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

HOW  spread  from  side  to  side  of  the  world  in  a  wonderful 
degree.  Tancred  of  Hauteville  and  his  Italian  Normans, 
though  important  too,  in  Italy,  are  not  worth  naming  in 
comparison.  This  is  a  feracious  earth,  and  the  grain  of 
mustard-seed  will  grow  to  miraculous  extent  in  some  cases. 

HaraWs  chief  helper,  counsellor,  and  lieutenant  was  the 
above-mentioned  Jarl  Rognwald  of  More,  who  had  the  honour 
to  cut  Harald's  dreadful  head  of  hair.  This  Roonwald  was 
father  of  Turf-Einar,  who  first  invented  peat  in  the  Orkneys, 
finding  the  wood  all  gone  there  ;  and  is  remembered  to  this 
day.  Einar,  being  come  to  these  islands  by  King  Harald's 
permission,  to  see  what  he  could  do  in  them,  —  islands 
inhabited  by  what  miscellany  of  Picts,  Scots,  Norse  squatters 
we  do  not  know, — found  the  indispensable  fuel  all  wasted. 
Turf-Einar  too  may  be  regarded  as  a  benefactor  to  his  kind. 
He  was,  it  appears,  a  bastard  ;  and  got  no  coddling  from  his 
father,  who  disliked  him,  partly  perhaps,  because  '  he  was 
ugly  and  blind  of  an  eye,' — got  no  flattering  even  on  his 
conquest  of  the  Orkneys  and  invention  of  peat.  Here  is  the 
parting  speech  his  father  made  to  him  on  fitting  him  out 
with  a  '  long-ship '  (ship  of  war,  '  dragon-ship,'  ancient 
seventy-four),  and  sending  him  forth  to  make  a  living  for 
himself  in  the  world  :  "  It  were  best  if  thou  never  camest 
back,  for  I  have  small  hope  that  thy  people  will  have  honour 
by  thee ;  thy  mother's  kin  throughout  is  slavish."" 

Harald  Haarfagr  had  a  good  many  sons  and  daughters ; 
the  daughters  he  married  mostly  to  jarls  of  due  merit  who 
were  loyal  to  him  ;  with  the  sons,  as  remarked  above,  he  had 
a  great  deal  of  trouble.  They  were  ambitious,  stirring 
fellows,  and  grudged  at  their  finding  so  little  promotion 
from  a  father  so  kind  to  his  jarls  ;  sea-robbery  by  no  means 
an  adequate  career  for  the  sons  of  a  great  king.  Two  of 
them,  Halfdan  Haaleg  (Long- leg),  and  Gudrod  Ljome 
(Gleam),  jealous  of  the  favours  won  by  the  great  Jarl 
Rognwald,  surrounded  him  in  his  house  one  night,  and 
burnt  him  and  sixty  men  to  death  there.      That  was  the  end 


HARALD    HAARFAGR  207 

of  Rognwald,  the  invaluable  jarl,  always  true  to  Haarfagr; 
and  distinguished  in  world  history  by  producing  Rolf  the 
Ganger,  author  of  the  Norman  Conquest  of  England,  and 
Turf-Einar,  who  invented  peat  in  the  Orkneys.  Whether 
Rolf  had  left  Norway  at  this  time  there  is  no  chronology  to 
tell  me.  As  to  Rolfs  surname,  '  Ganger,'  there  are  various 
hypotheses ;  the  likeliest,  perhaps,  that  Rolf  was  so  weighty 
a  man  no  horse  (small  Norwegian  horses,  big  ponies  rather) 
could  carry  him,  and  that  he  usually  -walked,  having  a 
mighty  stride  withal,  and  great  velocity  on  foot. 

One  of  these  murderers  of  Jarl  Rognwald  quietly  set 
himself  in  Rognwald's  place,  the  other  making  for  Orkney  to 
serve  Turf-Einar  in  like  fashion.  Turf-Einar,  taken  by 
surprise,  fled  to  the  mainland ;  but  returned,  days  or  perhaps 
weeks  after,  ready  for  battle,  fought  with  Halfdan,  put  his 
party  to  flight,  and  at  next  morning's  light  searched  the 
island  and  slew  all  the  men  he  found.  As  to  Halfdan 
Long-leg  himself,  in  fierce  memory  of  his  own  murdered 
father,  Turf-Einar  '  cut  an  eagle  on  his  back,'  that  is  to  say, 
hewed  the  ribs  from  each  side  of  the  spine  and  turned  them 
out  like  the-  wings  of  a  spread-eagle :  a  mode  of  Norse 
vengeance  fashionable  at  that  time  in  extremely  aggravated 
cases  ! 

Harald  Haarfagr,  in  the  mean  time,  had  descended  upon 
the  Roo-nwald  scene,  not  in  mild  mood  towards  the  new 
jarl  there  ;  indignantly  dismissed  said  jarl,  and  apponited 
a  brother  of  Rognwald  (brother,  notes  Dahlmann),  though 
Rognwald  had  left  other  sons.  AVhich  done,  Haarfagr 
sailed  with  all  speed  to  the  Orkneys,  there  to  avenge  that 
cutting  of  an  eagle  on  the  human  back  on  Turf-Einar's 
part.  Turf-Einar  did  not  resist;  submissively  met  the 
angry  Haarfagr,  said  he  left  it  all,  what  had  been  done, 
what  provocation  there  had  been,  to  Haarfagr's  own  equity 
and  greatness  of  mind.  Magnanimous  Haarfagr  inflicted  a 
fine  of  sixty  marks  in  gold,  which  was  paid  in  ready  money 
by  Turf-Einar,  and  so  the  matter  ended. 


208         EARLY    KINGS    OF   NORWAY 
CHAPTER  II 

ERIC    BLOOD-AXE    AND    BROTHERS 

In  such  violent  courses  Haarfagr's  sons,  I  know  not  how 
many  of  them,  had  come  to  an  untimely  end  ;  only  Eric,  the 
accomplished  sea-rover,  and  three  others  remained  to  him. 
Among  these  four  sons,  rather  impatient  for  property  and 
authority  of  their  own,  King  Harald,  in  his  old  days,  tried  to 
part  his  kingdom  in  some  eligible  and  equitable  way,  and 
retire  from  the  constant  press  of  business,  now  becoming 
burdensome  to  him.  To  each  of  them  he  gave  a  kind  of 
kingdom ;  Eric,  his  eldest  son,  to  be  head  king,  and  the 
others  to  be  feudatory  under  him,  and  pay  a  certain  yearly 
contribution  ;  an  arrangement  which  did  not  answer  well  at 
all.  Head-King  Eric  insisted  on  his  tribute ;  quarrels  arose 
as  to  the  payment,  considerable  fighting  and  disturbance, 
bringing  fierce  destruction  from  King  Eric  upon  many  valiant 
but  too  stubborn  Norse  spirits,  and  among  the  rest  upon  all 
his  three  brothers,  which  got  him  from  the  Norse  populations 
the  surname  of  Blod-axe,  '  Eric  Blood-axe,"  his  title  in  history. 
One  of  his  brothers  he  had  killed  in  battle  before  his  old 
fathers  life  ended ;  this  brother  was  Bjorn,  a  peaceable, 
improving,  trading,  economic  Under-king,  whom  the  others 
mockingly  called  'Bjorn  the  Chapman.'  The  great-grandson 
of  this  Bjorn  became  extremely  distinguished  by  and  by  as 
Saint  Olaf.  Head-King  Eric  seems  to  have  had  a  violent 
wife,  too.  She  was  thought  to  have  poisoned  one  of  her 
other  brothers-in-law.  Eric  Blood-axe  had  by  no  means  a 
gentle  life  of  it  in  this  world,  trained  to  sea-robbery  on  the 
coasts  of  England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  and  France,  since  his 
twelfth  year. 

Old  King  Fairhair,  at  the  age  of  seventy,  had  another  son, 
to  whom  was  given  the  name  of  Hakon.  His  mother  was  a 
slave  in  Fairhair's  house ;  slave  by  ill-luck  of  war,  though 
nobly  enough  born.     A  strange  adventure  connects  this  Hakon 


ERIC   BLOOD-AXE   AND   BROTHERS       209 

with  England  and  King  Athelstan,  who  was  then  entering 
upon  his  great  career  there.  Short  while  after  this  Hakon 
came  into  the  world,  there  entered  Fairhair's  palace,  one 
evening  as  Fairhair  sat  feasting,  an  English  ambassador  or 
messenger,  bearing  in  his  hand,  as  gift  from  King  Athelstan, 
a  magnificent  sword,  with  gold  hilt  and  other  fine  trimmings, 
to  the  great  Harald,  King  of  Norway.  Harald  took  the  sword, 
drew  it,  or  was  half-drawing  it,  admiringly  from  the  scabbard, 
when  the  English  excellency  broke  into  a  scornful  laugh,  "Ha, 
ha ;  thou  art  now  the  feudatory  of  my  English  king ;  thou 
hast  accepted  the  sword  from  him,  and  art  now  his  man  ! " 
(acceptance  of  a  sword  in  that  manner  being  the  symbol  of 
investiture  in  those  days.)  Harald  looked  a  trifle  flurried,  it 
is  probable ;  but  held-in  his  wrath,  and  did  no  damage  to  the 
tricksy  Englishman.  He  kept  the  matter  in  his  mind,  how- 
ever, and  next  summer  little  Hakon,  having  got  his  weaning 
done, — one  of  the  prettiest,  healthiest  little  creatures, — Harald 
sent  him  off,  under  charge  of  '  Hauk '  (HazoJc  so-called),  one 
of  his  principal  warriors,  with  order,  "  Take  him  to  England," 
and  instructions  what  to  do  with  him  there.  And  accordingly, 
one  evening,  ^Hauk,  with  thirty  men  escorting,  strode  into 
Athelstan's  high  dwelling  (where  situated,  how  built,  whether 
with  logs  like  HaraWs  I  cannot  specifically  say),  into  Athel- 
stan's  high  presence,  and  silently  set  the  wild  little  cherub 
upon  Athelstan's  knee,  "  What  is  this  ?  "  asked  Athelstan, 
looking  at  the  little  cherub.  "  This  is  King  Harald's  son, 
whom  a  servant-maid  bore  to  him,  and  whom  he  now  gives 
thee  as  foster-child  ! "  Indignant  Athelstan  drew  his  sword,  as 
if  to  do  the  gift  a  mischief ;  but  Hauk  said,  "  Thou  hast 
taken  him  on  thy  knee "  (common  symbol  of  adoption) ; 
"  thou  canst  kill  him  if  thou  wilt ;  but  thou  dost  not  thereby 
kill  all  the  sons  of  Harald."  Athelstan  straightway  took 
milder  thoughts ;  brought  up,  and  carefully  educated  Hakon  ; 
from  whom,  and  this  singular  adventure,  came,  before  very 
long,  the  first  tidings  of  Christianity  into  Norway. 

Harald    Haarfagr,   latterly   withdrawn    from    all    kinds    of 

VOL.   V.  o 


210         EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

business,  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-three — about  a.d.  933,  as 
is  computed ;  nearly  contemporary  in  death  with  the  first 
Danish  King,  Gorm  the  Old,  who  had  done  a  corresponding 
feat  in  reducing  Denmark  under  one  head.  Remarkable  old 
men,  these  two  first  kings;  and  possessed  of  gifts  for  bringing 
Chaos  a  little  nearer  to  the  form  of  Cosmos ;  possessed,  in 
fact,  of  loyalties  to  Cosmos,  that  is  to  say,  of  authentic  virtues 
in  the  savage  state,  such  as  have  been  needed  in  all  societies 
at  their  incipience  in  this  world  ;  a  kind  of  '  virtues '  hugely 
in  discredit  at  present,  but  not  unlikely  to  be  needed  again, 
to  the  astonishment  of  careless  persons,  before  all  is  done  ! 


CHAPTER    III 

HAKON    THE    GOOD 

Eric  Blood-axe,  whose  practical  reign  is  counted  to  have 
begun  about  a.d.  930,  had  by  this  time,  or  within  a  year  or 
so  of  this  time,  pretty  much  extinguished  all  his  brother 
kings,  and  crushed  down  recalcitrant  spirits,  in  his  violent 
way;  but  had  naturally  become  entirely  unpopular  in  Norway, 
and  filled  it  with  silent  discontent  and  even  rage  against  him. 
Harald  Fairhair's  last  son,  the  little  foster-child  of  Athelstan 
in  England,  who  had  been  baptized  and  carefully  educated, 
was  come  to  his  fourteenth  or  fifteenth  vear  at  his  father''s 
death ;  a  very  shining  youth,  as  Athelstan  saw  with  just 
pleasure.  So  soon  as  the  few  preliminary  preparations  had 
been  settled,  Hakon,  furnished  with  a  ship  or  two  by  Athel- 
stan, suddenly  appeared  in  Norway ;  got  acknowledged  by  the 
Peasant  Thing  in  Trondhjem  ;  '  the  news  of  which  flew  over 
Norway,  like  fire  through  dried  grass,'  says  an  old  chronicler. 
So  that  Eric,  with  his  Queen  Gunhild,  and  seven  small 
children,  had  to  run  ;  no  other  shift  for  Eric.  They  went 
to  the  Orkneys  first  of  all,  then  to  England,  and  he  '  got 
Northumberland  as  earldom,'  I  vaguely  hear,  from  Athelstan. 
But  Eric  soon  died,  and  his  queen,  with  her  children,  went 


HAKON    THE    GOOD  211 

back  to  the  Orkneys  in  search  of  refuge  or  help ;  to  little 
purpose  there  or  elsewhere.  From  Orkney  she  went  to 
Denmark,  where  Harald  Blue-tooth  took  her  poor  eldest  boy 
as  foster-child  ;  but  I  fear  did  not  very  faithfully  keep  that 
promise.  The  Danes  had  been  robbing  extensively  during  the 
late  tunmlts  in  Norway ;  this  the  Christian  Hakon,  now 
established  there,  paid  in  kind,  and  the  two  countries  were 
at  war ;  so  that  Gunhild's  little  boy  was  a  welcome  card  in 
the  hand  of  Blue-tooth. 

Hakon  proved  a  brilliant  and  successful  king ;  regulated 
many  things,  public  law  among  others  {Gule-Thing  Law, 
Froste-  Thing  Law  :  these  are  little  codes  of  his  accepted  by 
their  respective  Things,  and  had  a  salutary  effect  in  their 
time)  ;  with  prompt  dexterity  he  drove  back  the  Blue-tooth 
foster-son  invasions  every  time  they  came ;  and  on  the  whole 
gained  for  himself  the  name  of  Hakon  the  Good.  These 
Danish  invasions  were  a  frequent  source  of  trouble  to  him, 
but  his  greatest  and  continual  trouble  was  that  of  extirpating 
heathen  idolatry  from  Norway,  and  introducing  the  Christian 
Evangel  in  its  stead.  His  transcendent  anxiety  to  achieve 
this  salutary  enterprise  was  all  along  his  grand  difficulty  and 
stumbling-block  ;  the  heathen  opposition  to  it  being  also 
rooted  and  great.  Bishops  and  priests  from  England  Hakon 
had,  preaching  and  baptizing  what  they  could,  but  making 
only  slow  progress  ;  much  too  slow  for  Hakon's  zeal.  On  the 
other  hand,  every  Yule-tide,  when  the  chief  heathen  were 
assembled  in  his  own  palace  on  their  sacrificial  festival,  there 
was  great  pressure  ]>ut  upon  Hakon,  as  to  sprinkling  with 
horse-blood,  drinking  Yule-beer,  eating  horse-flesh,  and  the 
other  distressing  rites  ;  the  whole  of  which  Hakon  abhorred, 
and  with  all  his  steadfastness  strove  to  reject  utterly.  Sigurd, 
Jarl  of  Lade  (Trondhjem),  a  liberal  heathen,  not  openly  a 
Christian,  was  ever  a  wise  counsellor  and  conciliator  in  such 
affairs ;  and  proved  of  great  help  to  Hakon.  Once,  for 
example,  there  having  risen  at  a  Yule-feast,  loud,  almost 
stormful  demand  that  Hakon,  like  a  true  man  and  brother. 


212         EARLY    K  I  x\  G  S    OF    NORWAY 

should  drink  Yule-beer  with  them  in  their  sacred  hightide, 
Sigurd  persuaded  him  to  comply,  for  peace's  sake,  at  least 
in  form.  Hakon  took  the  cup  in  his  left  hand  (excellent 
hot  leer),  and  with  his  right  cut  the  sign  of  the  cross  above 
it,  then  drank  a  draught.  "  Yes ;  but  what  is  this  with 
the  king's  right  hand  ? ""  cried  the  company.  "  Don't  you 
see  ?  "  answered  shifty  Sigurd  ;  "  he  makes  the  sign  of  Thor's 
hammer  before  drinking  ! "  which  quenched  the  matter  for 
the  time. 

Horse-flesh,  horse-broth,  and  the  horse  ingredient  genei'ally, 
Hakon  all  but  inexorably  declined.  By  Sigurd's  pressing- 
exhortation  and  entreaty,  he  did  once  take  a  kettle  of 
horse-broth  by  the  handle,  with  a  good  deal  of  linen-quilt  or 
towel  interposed,  and  did  open  his  lips  for  what  of  steam 
could  insinuate  itself.  At  another  time  he  consented  to  a 
particle  of  horse-liver,  intending  privately,  I  guess,  to  keep 
it  outside  the  gullet,  and  smuggle  it  away  without  szvallowiiig; 
but  farther  than  this  not  even  Sigurd  could  persuade  him  to 
go.  At  the  Things  held  in  regard  to  this  matter  Hakon's 
success  was  always  incomplete ;  now  and  then  it  was  plain 
failure,  and  Hakon  had  to  draw  back  till  a  better  time. 
Here  is  one  specimen  of  the  response  he  got  on  such  an 
occasion  ;  curious  specimen,  withal,  of  antique  parliamentary 
eloquence  from  an  Anti- Christian  Thing. 

At  a  Thing  of  all  the  Fylkes  of  Trondhjem,  Thing  held 
at  Froste  in  that  region.  King  Hakon,  with  all  the  eloquence 
he  had,  signified  that  it  was  imperatively  necessary  that  all 
Bonders  and  sub -Bonders  should  become  Christians,  and 
believe  in  one  God,  Christ  the  Son  of  Mary ;  renouncing 
entirely  blood  sacrifices  and  heathen  idols  ;  should  keep  every 
seventh  day  holy,  abstain  from  labour  that  day,  and  even 
from  food,  devoting  the  dav  to  fasting  and  sacred  meditation. 
Whereupon,  by  way  of  universal  answer,  arose  a  confused 
universal  murmur  of  entire  dissent.  "  Take  away  from  us 
our  old  belief,  and  also  our  time  for  labour ! "  murmured 
they  in  angry  astonishment ;  "  how  can  even  the  land  be  got 


HAKON    THE    GOOD  213 

tilled  in  that  way?"  "We  cannot  work  if  we  don't  get 
food,"  said  the  hand  labourers  and  slaves.  "  It  lies  in  King 
Hakon's  blood,"''  remarked  others  ;  "  his  father  and  all  his 
kindred  were  apt  to  be  stingy  about  food,  though  liberal 
enough  with  money."  At  length,  one  Osbjom  (or  liear  of 
the  Asen  or  Gods,  what  we  now  call  Osborne),  one  Osbjom 
of  Medalhusin  Gulathal,  stept  forward,  and  said,  in  a  dis- 
tinct manner,  "  We  Bonders  (peasant  proprietors)  thought, 
King  Hakon,  when  thou  heldest  thy  first  Thing-day  here  in 
Trondhjem,  and  we  took  thee  for  our  king,  and  received  our 
hereditary  lands  from  thee  again,  that  we  had  got  heaven 
itself.  But  now  we  know  not  how  it  is,  whether  we  have 
won  freedom,  or  whether  thou  intendest  anew  to  make  us 
slaves,  with  this  wonderful  proposal  that  we  should  renounce 
our  faith,  which  our  fathers  before  us  have  held,  and  all  our 
ancestors  as  well,  first  in  the  age  of  burial  bv  burning,  and 
now  in  that  of  earth  burial ;  and  yet  these  departed  ones  were 
much  our  superiors,  and  their  faith,  too,  has  brought  prosperity 
to  us  !  Thee,  at  the  same  time,  we  have  loved  so  much  that 
we  raised  thee  to  manage  all  the  laws  of  the  land,  and  speak 
as  their  voice  to  us  all.  And  even  now  it  is  our  will  and  the 
vote  of  all  Bonders  to  keep  that  paction  which  thou  gavest 
us  here  on  the  Thing  at  Froste,  and  to  maintain  thee  as  king 
so  long  as  any  of  us  Bonders  who  are  here  upon  the  Thing 
has  life  left,  provided  thou,  king,  wilt  go  fairlv  to  work,  and 
demand  of  us  only  such  things  as  are  not  impossible.  But  if 
thou  wilt  fix  upon  this  thing  with  so  great  obstinacy,  and 
employ  force  and  power,  in  that  case,  we  Bonders  have  taken 
the  resolution,  all  of  us,  to  fall  away  from  thee,  and  to  take 
for  ourselves  another  head,  who  will  so  behave  that  we  may 
enjoy  in  freedom  the  belief  which  is  agreeable  to  us.  Now 
shalt  thou,  king,  choose  one  of  these  two  courses  before  the 
Thing  disperse."  '  \\Tiereupon,'  adds  the  Chronicle,  '  all  the 
Bonders  raised  a  mightv  shout,  "  Ves,  we  will  have  it  so,  as 
has  been  said.""  So  that  Jarl  Sigurd  had  to  intervene,  and 
King  Hakon  to  choose  for  the  moment  the  milder  branch  of 


214         EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

the  alternative.^  At  other  Things  Hakon  was  more  or  less 
successful.  All  his  days,  by  such  methods  as  there  were,  he 
kept  pressing  forward  with  this  great  enterprise ;  and  on  the 
whole  did  thoroughly  shake  asunder  the  old  edifice  of  heathen- 
dom, and  fairly  introduce  some  foundation  for  the  new  and 
better  rule  of  faith  and  life  among  his  people.  Sigurd,  Jarl 
of  Lade,  his  wise  counsellor  in  all  these  matters,  is  also  a  man 
worthy  of  notice. 

Hakon's  arrangements  against  the  continual  invasions  of 
Eric's  sons,  with  Danish  Blue-tooth  backing  them,  were  mani- 
fold, and  for  a  long  time  successful.  He  appointed,  after 
consultation  and  consent  in  the  various  Things,  so  many  war- 
ships, fully  manned  and  ready,  to  be  furnished  instantly  on 
the  King's  demand  by  each  j^rovince  or  fjord  ;  watch-fires,  on 
fit  places,  from  hill  to  hill  all  along  the  coast,  were  to  be 
carefully  set  up,  carefully  maintained  in  readiness,  and  kindled 
on  any  alarm  of  war.  By  such  methods  Blue-tooth  and  Co.'s 
invasions  were  for  a  long  while  triumphantly,  and  even  rapidly, 
one  and  all  of  them,  beaten  back,  till  at  length  they  seemed 
as  if  intending  to  cease  altogether,  and  leave  Hakon  alone  of 
them.  But  such  was  not  their  issue  after  all.  The  sons  of 
Eric  had  only  abated  under  constant  discouragement,  had  not 
finally  left  off  from  what  seemed  their  one  great  feasibility 
in  life.  Gunhild,  their  mother,  was  still  with  them  :  a  most 
contriving,  fierce-minded,  irreconcilable  woman,  diligent  and 
urgent  on  them,  in  season  and  out  of  season  ;  and  as  for  King 
Blue-tooth,  he  was  at  all  times  ready  to  help,  with  his  good- 
will at  least. 

That  of  the  alarm-fires  on  Hakon's  part  was  found  trouble- 
some by  his  people  ;  sometimes  it  was  even  hurtful  and  pro- 
voking (lighting  your  alarm-fires  and  rousing  the  whole  coast 
and  population,  when  it  was  nothing  but  some  paltry  viking 
with  a  couple  of  ships)  ;  in  short,  the  alarm-signal  system  fell 
into  disuse,  and  good  King  Hakon  himself,  in  the  first  place, 
paid  the  penalty.  It  is  counted,  by  the  latest  commentators, 
^  Dahlmann,  ii.  93. 


HAKON    THE    GOOD  215 

to  have  been  about  a.  d.  961,  sixteenth  or  seventeenth  year 
of  Hakon's  pious,  valiant,  and  worthy  reign.  Being  at  a  feast 
one  day,  with  many  guests,  on  the  Island  of  Stord,  sudden 
announcement  came  to  him  that  ships  from  the  south  were 
approaching  in  quantity,  and  evidently  ships  of  war.  This 
was  the  biggest  of  all  the  Blue-tooth  foster-son  invasions ; 
and  it  was  fatal  to  Hakon  the  Good  that  night.  Eyvind 
the  Skaldaspillir  (annihilator  of  all  other  Skalds),  in  his  famed 
Hakoii's  Song,  gives  account,  and,  still  more  pertinently,  the 
always  practical  Snorro.  Danes  in  great  multitude,  six  to 
one,  as  people  afterwards  computed,  springing  swiftly  to  land, 
and  ranking  themselves  ;  Hakon,  nevertheless,  at  once  deciding 
not  to  take  to  his  ships  and  run,  but  to  fight  there,  one  to 
six ;  fighting,  accordingly,  in  his  most  splendid  manner,  and 
at  last  gloriously  prevailing ;  routing  and  scattering  back  to 
their  ships  and  flight  homeward  these  six- to -one  Danes. 
'  During  the  struggle  of  the  fight,'  says  Snorro,  '  he  was  very 
conspicuous  among  other  men ;  and  while  the  sun  shone,  his 
bright  gilded  helmet  glanced,  and  thereby  many  weapons  were 
directed  at  him.  One  of  his  henchmen,  Eyvind  Finnson  {i.e. 
Skaldaspillir,  the  poet),  took  a  hat,  and  put  it  over  the  king's 
helmet.  Now,  among  the  hostile  first  leaders  were  two  uncles 
of  the  Ericsons,  brothers  of  Gunhild,  great  champions  both  ; 
Skreya,  the  elder  of  them,  on  the  disappearance  of  the  glitter- 
ing helmet,  shouted  boastfully,  "  Does  the  king  of  the  Norse- 
men hide  himself,  then,  or  has  he  fled  ?  Where  now  is  the 
golden  helmet  ? "  And  so  saying,  Skreya,  and  his  brother 
Alf  with  him,  pushed  on  like  fools  or  madmen.  The  king- 
said,  "  Come  on  in  that  way,  and  you  shall  find  the  king  of 
the  Norsemen  ! '"" '  And  in  a  short  space  of  time  braggart 
Skreya  did  come  up,  swinging  his  sword,  and  made  a  cut  at 
the  king ;  but  Thoralf  the  Strong,  an  Icelander,  who  fought 
at  the  king's  side,  dashed  his  sh'-^ld  so  hard  against  Skreya, 
that  he  tottered  with  the  shock.  On  the  same  instant  the 
king  takes  his  sword  '  quernbiter  ■"  (able  to  cut  querns  or  mill- 
stones) with  both  hands,  and  hews  Skreya  through  helm  and 


216        EARLY    KINGS    OF   NORWAY 

head,  cleaving  him  down  to  the  shoulders,  Thoralf  also  slew 
Alf.  That  was  what  they  got  by  such  over-hasty  search  for 
the  king  of  the  Norsemen.^ 

Snorro  considers  the  fall  of  these  two  champion  uncles  as 
the  crisis  of  the  fight ;  the  Danish  force  being  much  dis- 
heartened by  such  a  sight,  and  King  Hakon  now  pressing  on 
so  hard  that  all  men  gave  way  before  him,  the  battle  on  the 
Ericson  part  became  a  whirl  of  recoil ;  and  in  a  few  minutes 
more  a  torrent  of  mere  flight  and  haste  to  get  on  board  their 
ships,  and  put  to  sea  again  ;  in  which  operation  many  of  them 
were  drowned,  says  Snorro ;  survivors  making  instant  sail  for 
Denmark  in  that  sad  condition. 

This  seems  to  have  been  King  Hakon''s  finest  battle,  and 
the  most  conspicuous  of  his  victories,  due  not  a  little  to  his 
own  grand  qualities  shown  on  the  occasion.  But,  alas  !  it 
was  his  last  also.  He  was  still  zealously  directing  the  chase 
of  that  mad  Danish  flight,  or  whirl  of  recoil  towards  their 
ships,  when  an  arrow,  shot  most  likely  at  a  venture,  hit  him 
under  the  left  armpit ;  and  this  proved  his  death. 

He  was  helped  into  his  ship,  and  made  sail  for  Alrekstad, 
where  his  chief  residence  in  those  parts  was  ;  but  had  to  stop 
at  a  smaller  place  of  his  (which  had  been  his  mother's,  and 
where  he  himself  was  born) — a  place  called  Hella  (the  Flat 
Rock),  still  known  as  'Hakon's  Hella,'  faint  from  loss  of  blood, 
and  crushed  down  as  he  had  never  before  felt.  Having  no 
son  and  only  one  daughter,  he  appointed  these  invasive  sons 
of  Eric  to  be  sent  for,  and  if  he  died  to  become  king ;  but  to 
"  spare  his  friends  and  kindred."  "  If  a  longer  life  be  granted 
me,""  he  said,  "  I  will  go  out  of  this  land  to  Christian  men, 
and  do  penance  for  what  I  have  committed  against  God.  But 
if  I  die  in  the  country  of  the  heathen,  let  me  have  such  burial 
as  you  yourselves  think  fittest.""  These  are  his  last  recorded 
words.  And  in  heathen  fashion  he  was  buried,  and  besung  by 
Eyvind  and  the  Skalds,  though  himself  a  zealously  Christian 
king.      Hakon  the   Good ;    so  one  still   finds  him  worthy  of 

^   Laing's  Sno}-ro,  i.  344. 


HARALD  GREYFELL  AND  BROTHERS  217 

being  called.  The  sorrow  on  Hakon's  death,  Snorro  tells  us, 
was  so  great  and  universal,  '  that  he  was  lamented  both  by 
friends  and  enemies  ;  and  they  said  that  never  again  would 
Norway  see  such  a  king/ 


CHAPTER    IV 

HARALD  GREYFELL  AND  BROTHERS 

Eric's  sons,  four  or  five  of  them,  with  a  Harald  at  the  top, 
now  at  once  got  Norway  in  hand,  all  of  it  but  Trondhjem,  as 
king  and  under-kings ;  and  made  a  severe  time  of  it  for  those 
who  had  been,  or  seemed  to  be,  their  enemies.  Excellent  Jarl 
Sigurd,  always  so  useful  to  Hakon  and  his  country,  was  killed 
by  them  ;  and  they  came  to  repent  that  before  very  long. 
The  slain  Sigurd  left  a  son,  Hakon,  as  Jarl,  who  became 
famous  in  the  northern  world  by  and  by.  This  Hakon, 
and  him  only,  would  the  Trondhjemers  accept  as  sovereign. 
"  Death  to  him,  then,"  said  the  sons  of  Eric,  but  only  in 
secret,  till  they  had  got  their  hands  free  and  were  ready  ; 
which  was  not  yet  for  some  years.  Nay,  Hakon,  when  actually 
attacked,  made  good  resistance,  and  threatened  to  cause 
trouble.  Nor  did  he  by  any  means  get  his  death  from  these 
sons  of  Eric  at  this  time,  or  till  long  afterwards  at  all,  from 
one  of  their  kin,  as  it  chanced.  On  the  contrary,  he  fled 
to  Denmark  now,  and  by  and  by  managed  to  come  back,  to 
their  cost. 

Among  their  other  chief  victims  were  two  cousins  of  their 
own,  Tryggve  and  Gudrod,  who  had  been  honest  under-kings 
to  the  late  head-king,  Hakon  the  Good  ;  but  were  now  become 
suspect,  and  had  to  fight  for  their  lives,  and  lose  them  in  a 
tragic  manner.  Tryggve  had  a  son,  whom  we  shall  hear  of. 
Gudrod,  son  of  worthy  Bjorn  the  Chapman,  was  grandfather 
of  Saint  Olaf,  whom  all  men  have  heard  of, — who  has  a  church 
in  Southwark  even,  and  another  in  Old  Jewry,  to  this  hour. 


218         EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

In  all  these  violences,  Gunhild,  widow  of  the  late  king  Eric, 
was  understood  to  have  a  principal  hand.  She  had  come  back 
to  Norway  with  her  sons ;  and  naturally  passed  for  the  secret 
adviser  and  Maternal  President  in  whatever  of  violence  went 
on  ;  always  reckoned  a  fell,  vehement,  relentless  personage 
where  her  own  interests  were  concerned.  Probably  as  things 
settled,  her  influence  on  affairs  grew  less.  At  least  one  hopes 
so ;  and,  in  the  Sagas,  hears  less  and  less  of  her,  and  before 
long  nothing. 

Harald,  the  head -king  in  this  Eric  fraternity,  does  not 
seem  to  have  been  a  bad  man, —  the  contrary  indeed;  but  his 
position  was  untowardly,  full  of  difficulty  and  contradictions. 
Whatever  Harald  could  accomplish  for  behoof  of  Christianity, 
or  real  benefit  to  Norway,  in  these  cross  circumstances,  he 
seems  to  have  done  in  a  modest  and  honest  manner.  He  got 
the  name  of  Greyfell  from  his  people  on  a  very  trivial  account, 
but  seemingly  with  perfect  good  humour  on  their  part.  Some 
Iceland  trader  had  brought  a  cargo  of  furs  to  Trondhjem 
(Lade)  for  sale  ;  sale  being  slacker  than  the  Icelander  wished, 
he  presented  a  chosen  specimen,  cloak,  doublet,  or  whatever 
it  was,  to  Harald  ;  who  wore  it  with  acceptance  in  public, 
and  rapidly  brought  disposal  of  the  Icelander's  stock,  and  the 
surname  of  Greyfell  to  himself.  His  under-kings  and  he  were 
certainly  not  popular,  though  I  almost  think  Greyfell  himself, 
in  absence  of  his  mother  and  the  under-kings,  might  have 
been  so.  But  here  they  all  were,  and  had  wrought  great 
trouble  in  Norway.  "  Too  many  of  them,"  said  everybody ; 
"  too  many  of  these  courts  and  court  people,  eating  up  any 
substance  that  there  is."  For  the  seasons  withal,  two  or  three 
of  them  in  succession,  were  bad  for  grass,  much  more  for 
grain  ;  no  herring-  came  either ;  very  cleanness  of  teeth  was 
like  to  come  in  Eyvind  Skaldaspillirs  opinion.  This  scarcity 
became  at  last  their  share  of  the  great  Famine  of  a.d.  975, 
which  desolated  Western  Europe  (see  the  poem  in  the  Saxon 
Chronicle).  And  all  this  by  Eyvind  Skaldaspillir,  and  the 
heathen  Norse  in  genei'al,  was  ascribed  to  anger  of  the  heathen 


HARALD  GREYFELL  AND  BROTHERS  219 

gods.  Discontent  in  Norway,  and  especially  in  Eyvind  Skald- 
aspillir,  seems  to  have  been  very  great. 

Whereupon  exile  Hakoii,  Jarl  Sigurd's  son,  bestirs  himself 
in  Denmark,  backed  by  old  King  Blue-tooth,  and  begins 
invading  and  encroaching  in  a  miscellaneous  way  ;  especially 
intriguing  and  contriving  plots  all  round  him.  An  unfathom- 
ably  cunning  kind  of  fellow,  as  well  as  an  audacious  and 
strong-handed  !  Intriguing  in  Trondhjem,  where  he  gets  the 
under-king.  Grey  fell's  brother,  fallen  upon  and  murdered  ;  in- 
triguing with  Gold  Harald,  a  distinguished  cousin  or  nephew 
of  King  Blue-tooth's,  who  had  done  fine  viking  work,  and 
gained  such  wealth  that  he  got  the  epithet  of '  Gold,'  and  who 
now  was  infinitely  desirous  of  a  share  in  Blue-tooth's  kingdom 
as  the  proper  finish  to  these  sea-rovings.  He  even  ventured 
one  day  to  make  publicly  a  distinct  proposal  that  way  to 
Kino-  Harald  Blue-tooth  himself:  who  flew  into  thunder  and 
lightning  at  the  mere  mention  of  it ;  so  that  none  durst  speak 
to  him  for  several  days  afterwards.  Of  both  these  Haralds 
Hakon  was  confidential  friend;  and  needed  all  his  skill  to 
walk  without  immediate  annihilation  between  such  a  pair  of 
dragons,  and  work  out  Norway  for  himself  withal.  In  the 
end  he  found  he  must  take  solidly  to  Blue-tooth's  side  of  the 
question  ;  and  that  they  two  must  provide  a  recipe  for  Gold 
Harald  and  Norway  both  at  once. 

"  It  is  as  much  as  your  life  is  worth  to  speak  again  of 
sharing  this  Danish  kingdom,"  said  Hakon  very  privately  to 
Gold  Harald  ;  "  but  could  not  you,  my  golden  friend,  be 
content  with  Norway  for  a  kingdom,  if  one  helped  you  to  it  ?" 

"  That  could  I  well,"  answered  Harald. 

"Then  keep  me  those  nine  war-ships  you  have  just  been 
rigging  for  a  new  viking  cruise ;  have  these  in  readiness  when 
I  lift  my  finger  ! " 

That  was  the  recipe  contrived  for  Gold  Harald  ;  recipe  for 
King  Greyfell  goes  into  the  same  vial,  and  is  also  ready. 

Hitherto  the  Hakon -Blue- tooth  disturbances  in  Norway 
had  amounted  to  but  little.     King  Greyfell,  a  very  active  and 


220        EARLY    KINGS    OF   NORWAY 

valiant  man,  has  constantly,  without  much  difficulty,  repelled 
these  sporadic  bits  of  troubles  ;  but  Greyfell,  all  the  same, 
would  willingly  have  peace  with  dangerous  old  Blue-tooth 
(ever  anxious  to  get  his  clutches  over  Norway  on  any  terms), 
if  peace  with  him  could  be  had.  Rlue-tooth,  too,  professes 
every  willingness ;  inveigles  Greyfell,  he  and  Hakon  do,  to 
have  a  friendly  meeting  on  the  Danish  borders,  and  not  only 
settle  all  these  quarrels,  but  generously  settle  Greyfell  in 
certain  fiefs  which  he  claimed  in  Denmark  itself;  and  so 
swear  everlasting  friendship.  Greyfell  joyfully  complies, 
punctually  appears  at  the  appointed  day  in  Lymfjord 
Sound,  the  appointed  place.  Whereupon  Hakon  gives 
signal  to  Gold  Harald,  "To  Lymfjord  with  these  nine 
ships  of  yours,  swift  ! "  Gold  Harald  flies  to  Lymfjord 
with  his  ships,  challenges  King  Harald  Greyfell  to  land  and 
fight ;  which  the  undaunted  Greyfell,  though  so  far  out- 
numbered, does ;  and,  fighting  his  very  best,  perishes  there, 
he  and  almost  all  his  people.  Which  done,  Jarl  Hakon, 
who  is  in  readiness,  attacks  Gold  Harald,  the  victorious  but 
the  wearied  ;  easily  beats  Gold  Harald,  takes  him  prisoner, 
and  instantly  hangs  and  ends  him,  to  the  huge  joy  of  King 
Blue -tooth  and  Hakon ;  who  now  make  instant  voyage  to 
Norway ;  drive  all  the  brother  under-kings  into  rapid  flight 
to  the  Orkneys,  to  any  readiest  shelter ;  and  so,  under  the 
patronage  of  Blue-tooth,  Hakon,  with  the  title  of  Jarl, 
becomes  ruler  of  Norway,  This  foul  treachery  done  on  the 
brave  and  honest  Harald  Greyfell  is  by  some  dated  about  a.d. 
969,  by  Munch,  965,  by  others,  computing  out  of  Snorro 
only,  A.D.  975.  For  there  is  always  an  uncertainty  in  these 
Icelandic  dates  (say  rather,  rare  and  rude  attempts  at  dating, 
without  even  an  '  a.d.'  or  other  fixed  '  year  one '  to  go  upon 
in  Iceland),  though  seldom,  I  think,  so  large  a  discrepancy 
as  here. 


HAKON    JAIIL  221 

CHAPTER    V 

HAKON    JARL 

Hakon  Jarl,  such  the  style  he  took,  had  engaged  to  pay 
some  kind  of  tribute  to  King  Bkie-tooth,  'if  he  could';  but 
he  never  did  pay  any,  pleading  always  the  necessity  of  his 
own  affairs ;  with  which  excuse,  joined  to  Hakon's  readiness 
in  things  less  important,  King  Blue-tooth  managed  to  content 
himself,  Hakon  being  always  his  good  neighbour,  at  least, 
and  the  two  mutually  dependent.  In  Norway,  Hakon, 
without  the  title  of  king,  did  in  a  strong-handed,  steadfast, 
and  at  length  successful  way,  the  office  of  one ;  governed 
Norway  (some  count)  for  above  twenty  years ;  and,  both  at 
home  and  abroad,  had  much  consideration  through  most  of 
that  time ;  specially  amongst  the  heathen  orthodox,  for 
Hakon  Jarl  himself  was  a  zealous  heathen,  fixed  in  his 
mind  against  these  chimerical  Christian  innovations  and 
unsalutary  changes  of  creed,  and  would  have  gladly  trampled 
out  all  traces  of  what  the  last  two  kings  (for  Greyfell,  also, 
was  an  English  Christian  after  his  sort)  had  done  in  this 
respect.  But  he  wisely  discerned  that  it  was  not  possible, 
and  that,  for  peace's  sake,  he  must  not  even  attempt  it,  but 
must  strike  preferably  into  '  perfect  toleration,"'  and  that  of 
'  every  one  getting  to  heaven '  (or  even  to  the  other  goal) 
'  in  his  own  way.'  He  himself,  it  is  well  known,  repaired 
many  heathen  temples  (a  great  '  church  builder  *"  in  his  way  !), 
manufactured  many  splendid  idols,  with  much  gilding  and 
such  artistic  ornament  as  there  was,  —  in  particular,  one 
huge  image  of  Thor,  not  forgetting  the  hammer  and 
appendages,  and  such  a  collar  (supposed  of  solid  gold,  which 
it  was  not  quite,  as  we  shall  hear  in  time)  round  the  neck 
of  him  as  was  never  seen  in  all  the  North.  How  he  did  his 
own  Yule  festivals,  with  what  magnificent  solemnity,  the 
horse-eatings,  blood-sprinklings,  and  other  sacred  rites,  need 
not  be  told.      Something  of  a  '  Ritualist,'  one  may  perceive ; 


222        EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

perhaps  had  Scandinavian  Puseyisms  in  him,  and  other 
desperate  heathen  notions.  He  was  universally  believed  to 
have  gone  into  magic,  for  one  thing,  and  to  have  dangerous 
potencies  derived  from  the  Devil  himself.  The  dark  heathen 
mind  of  him  struggling  vehemently  in  that  strange  element, 
not  altogether  so  unlike  our  own  in  some  points. 

For  the  rest,  he  was  evidently,  in  practical  matters,  a 
man  of  sharp,  clear  insight,  of  steadfast  resolution,  diligence, 
promptitude ;  and  managed  his  secular  matters  uncommonly 
well.  Had  sixteen  Jarls  under  him,  though  himself  only 
Hakon  Jarl  by  title ;  and  got  obedience  from  them  stricter 
than  any  king  since  Haarfagr  had  done.  Add  to  which  that 
the  country  had  years  excellent  for  grass  and  crop,  and  that 
the  herrings  came  in  exuberance ;  tokens,  to  the  thinking 
mind,  that  Hakon  Jarl  was  a  favourite  of  Heaven. 

His  fight  with  the  far-famed  Jomsvikings  was  his  grandest 
exploit  in  public  rumour.  Jomsburg,  a  locality  not  now 
known,  except  that  it  was  near  the  mouth  of  the  River  Oder, 
denoted  in  those  ages  the  impregnable  castle  of  a  certain 
body  corporate,  or  *  Sea  Robbery  Association  (limited),"' 
which,  for  some  generations,  held  the  Baltic  in  terror,  and 
])lundered  far  beyond  the  Belt,  —  in  the  ocean  itself,  in 
Flanders  and  the  o})ulent  trading  havens  there, — above  all, 
in  opulent  anarchic  England,  which,  for  forty  years  from 
about  this  time,  was  the  pirates ''  Goshen ;  and  yielded, 
regularly  every  summer,  slaves,  Danegelt,  and  miscellaneous 
plunder,  like  no  other  country  Jomsburg  or  the  viking-world 
had  ever  known.  Palnatoke,  Bue,  and  the  other  quasi- 
heroic  heads  of  this  establishment  are  still  remembered  in 
the  northern  parts.  Palnatol-e  is  the  title  of  a  tragedy 
by  Oehlenschlager,  which  had  its  run  of  immortality  in 
Copenhagen  some  sixty  or  seventy  years  ago. 

I  judge  the  institution  to  have  been  in  its  floweriest  state, 
])robably  now  in  Hakon  JarFs  time.  Hakon  Jarl  and 
these  pirates,  robbing  Hakon^s  subjects  and  merchants  that 
frequented    him,    were    naturally    in    quarrel ;    and    frequent 


HAKON    JARL  223 

fightings  had  fallen  out,  not  generally  to  the  profit  of  the 
Jomsburgers,  who  at  last  determined  on  revenge,  and  the 
rooting  out  of  this  obstructive  Hakon  Jarl.  They  assembled 
in  force  at  the  Cape  of  Stad, —  in  the  Firda  Fjike  ;  and  the 
fight  was  dreadful  in  the  extreme,  noise  of  it  filling  all  the 
north  for  long  afterwards.  Hakon,  fighting  like  a  lion, 
could  scarcely  hold  his  own, — Death  or  Victory,  the  word 
on  both  sides ;  when  suddenly,  the  heavens  grew  black,  and 
there  broke  out  a  terrific  storm  of  thunder  and  hail,  appalling 
to  the  human  mind, — universe  swallowed  wholly  in  black 
night ;  only  the  momentary  forked-blazes,  the  thunder-pealing 
as  of  Ragnarok,  and  the  battering  hail -torrents,  hail-stones 
about  the  size  of  an  egg.  Thor  with  his  hammer  evidently 
acting ;  but  in  behalf  of  whom  ?  The  Jomsburgers  in  the 
hideous  darkness,  broken  only  by  flashing  thunderbolts,  had 
a  dismal  apprehension  that  it  was  probably  not  on  their 
behalf  (Thor  having  a  sense  of  justice  in  him);  and  before 
the  storm  ended,  thirty-five  of  their  seventy  ships  sheered 
away,  leaving  gallant  Bue,  with  the  other  thirty-five,  to 
follow  as  they  liked,  who  reproachfully  hailed  these  fugitives, 
and  continued  the  now  hopeless  battle.  Bue's  nose  and  lips 
were  smashed  or  cut  away  ;  Bue  managed,  half-articulately, 
to  exclaim,  "Ha!  the  maids  ('mays"')  of  Flinen  will  never 
kiss  me  more.  Overboard,  all  ye  Bue's  men  ! "  And  taking 
his  two  sea-chests,  with  all  the  gold  he  had  gained  in  such 
life-struggle  from  of  old,  sprang  overboard  accordingly,  and 
finished  the  affkir.  Plakon  JarPs  renown  rose  naturally  to 
the  transcendent  pitch  after  this  exploit.  His  people,  I 
suppose  chiefly  the  Christian  part  of  them,  whispered  one  to 
another,  with  a  shudder,  "  That  in  the  blackest  of  the 
thunderstorm,  he  had  taken  his  youngest  little  boy,  and 
made  away  with  him  ;  sacrificed  him  to  Thor  or  some  devil, 
and  gained  his  victory  by  art-magic,  or  something  worse." 
Jarl  Eric,  Hakon's  eldest  son,  without  suspicion  of  art-magic, 
but  already  a  distinguished  viking,  became  thrice  distinguished 
by   his    style    of  sea-fighting  in    this    battle ;   and    awakened 


224         EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

great  expectations  in  the  viking  public ;  of  him  we  shall 
hear  again. 

The  Jomsburgers,  one  might  fancy,  after  this  sad  clap 
went  visibly  down  in  the  world  ;  but  the  fact  is  not  altogether 
so.  Old  King  Blue-tooth  was  now  dead,  died  of  a  wound 
got  in  battle  with  his  w/inatural  (so-called  '  natural ')  son  and 
successor.  Otto  Svein  of  the  Forked  Beard,  afterwards  king 
and  conqueror  of  England  for  a  little  while ;  and  seldom, 
perhaps  never,  had  vikingism  been  in  such  flower  as  now. 
This  man's  name  is  Sven  in  Swedish,  Svend  in  German,  and 
means  boy  or  lad, — the  English  '  swain.'  It  was  at  old  'Father 
Blue-tooth's  funeral-ale'  (drunken  burial-feast),  that  Svein, 
carousing  with  his  Jomsburg  chiefs  and  other  choice  spirits, 
generally  of  the  robber  class,  all  risen  into  height  of  highest 
robber  enthusiasm,  pledged  the  vow  to  one  another;  Svein 
that  he  would  conquer  England  (which,  in  a  sense,  he,  after 
long  struggling,  did) ;  and  the  Jomsburgers  that  they  would 
ruin  and  root  out  Hakon  Jarl  (which,  as  we  have  just  seen, 
they  could  by  no  means  do),  and  other  guests  other  foolish 
things  which  proved  equally  unfeasible.  Sea-robber  volunteers 
so  especially  abounding  in  that  time,  one  perceives  how  easily 
the  Jomsburgers  could  recruit  themselves,  build  or  refit  new 
robber  fleets,  man  them  with  the  pick  of  crews,  and  steer 
for  opulent,  fruitful  England ;  where,  under  Ethelred  the 
Unready,  was  such  a  field  for  profitable  enterprise  as  the 
viking  public  never  had  before  or  since. 

An  idle  question  sometimes  rises  on  me, — idle  enough,  for 
it  never  can  be  answered  in  the  affirmative  or  the  negative, 
Whether  it  was  not  these  same  refitted  Jomsburgers  who 
appeared  some  while  after  this  at  Red  Head  Point,  on  the 
shore  of  Angus,  and  sustained  a  new  severe  beating,  in  what 
the  Scotch  still  faintly  remember  as  their  'Battle  of  Loncarty'? 
Beyond  doubt  a  powerful  Norse-pirate  armament  dropt  anchor 
at  the  Red  Head,  to  the  alarm  of  peaceable  mortals,  about 
that  time.  It  was  thought  and  hoped  to  be  on  its  way  for 
England,  but  it  visibly  hung  on  for  several  days,  deliberating 


HAKON    JARL  225 

(as  was  thought)  whether  they  would  do  this  poorer  coast  the 
honour  to  land  on  it  before  going  farther.  Did  land,  and 
vigorously  plunder  and  burn  south-westward  as  far  as  Perth ; 
laid  siege  to  Perth  ;  but  brought  out  King  Kenneth  on  them, 
and  produced  that  '  Battle  of  Loncarty '  which  still  dwells  in 
vague  memory  among  the  Scots.  Perhaps  it  might  be  the 
Jomsburgers ;  perhaps  also  not ;  for  there  Avere  many  pirate 
associations,  lasting  not  from  century  to  century  like  the 
Jomsburgers,  but  only  for  very  limited  periods,  or  from  year 
to  year ;  indeed,  it  was  mainly  by  such  that  the  splendid 
thief-harvest  of  England  was  reaped  in  this  disastrous  time. 
No  Scottish  chronicler  gives  the  least  of  exact  date  to  their 
famed  victory  of  Loncarty,  only  that  it  was  achieved  by 
Kenneth  iii.,  which  will  mean  some  time  between  a.d.  975 
and  994  ;  and,  by  the  order  they  put  it  in,  probably  soon 
after  a.d.  975,  or  the  beginning  of  this  Kenneth's  reign. 
Buchanan's  narrative,  carefully  distilled  from  all  the  ancient 
Scottish  sources,  is  of  admirable  quality  for  style  and  otherwise; 
quiet,  brief,  with  perfect  clearness,  perfect  credibility  even, — 
except  that  semi -miraculous  appendage  of  the  Ploughmen, 
Hay  and  Soris;  always  hanging  to  the  tail  of  it ;  the  grain  of 
possible  truth  in  which  can  now  never  be  extracted  by  man's 
art !  ^  In  brief,  what  we  know  is,  fragments  of  ancient  human 
bones  and  armour  have  occasionally  been  ploughed  up  in  this 
locality,  proof-positive  of  ancient  fighting  here  ;  and  the  fight 
fell  out  not  long  after  Hakon's  beating  of  the  Jomsburgers 
at  the  Cape  of  Stad.  And  in  such  dim  glimmer  of  wavering 
twilight,  the  question  whether  these  of  Loncarty  were  refitted 
Jomsburgers  or  not,  must  be  left  hanging.  Loncarty  is  now 
the  biggest  bleachfield  in  Queen  Victoria's  dominions  ;  no 
village  or  hamlet  there,  only  the  huge  bleaching-house  and 
a  beautiful  field,  some  six  or  seven  miles  north-west  of  Perth, 
bordered  by  the  beautiful  Tay  river  on  the  one  side,  and  by 
its  beautiful  tributary  Almond  on  the  other  ;  a  Loncarty  fitted 
either  for  bleaching  linen,  or  for  a  bit  of  fair  duel  between 

'  G.  Buchanani  Opera  Omnia,  i.  103-4  (Curante  Ryddimano,  Edinburgi  1715). 
VOL.   V.  P 


226        EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

nations,  in  those  simple  times.  Whether  our  refitted  Joms- 
burgers  had  the  least  thing  to  do  with  it  is  only  matter  of 
fancy,  but  if  it  were  they  who  here  again  got  a  good  beating, 
fancy  would  be  glad  to  find  herself  fact.  The  old  piratical 
kings  of  Denmark  had  been  at  the  founding  of  Jomsburg,  and 
to  Svein  of  the  Forked  Beard  it  was  still  vitally  important, 
but  not  so  to  the  great  Knut,  or  any  king  that  followed  ;  all 
of  whom  had  better  business  than  mere  thieving ;  and  it  was 
Magnus  the  Good,  of  Norway,  a  man  of  still  higher  anti- 
anarchic  qualities,  that  annihilated  it,  about  a  century  later. 

Hakon  Jarl,  his  chief  labours  in  the  world  being  over,  is 
said  to  have  become  very  dissolute  in  his  elder  days,  especially 
in  the  matter  of  women  ;  the  wretched  old  fool,  led  away  by 
idleness  and  fulness  of  bread,  which  to  all  of  us  are  well  said 
to  be  the  parents  of  mischief.  Having  absolute  power,  he 
got  into  the  habit  of  openly  plundering  men's  pretty  daughters 
and  wives  from  them,  and,  after  a  few  weeks,  sending  them 
back ;  greatly  to  the  rage  of  the  fierce  Norse  heart,  had  there 
been  any  means  of  resisting  or  revenging.  It  did,  after  a  little 
while,  prove  the  ruin  and  destruction  of  Hakon  the  Rich,  as 
he  was  then  called.  It  opened  the  door,  namely,  for  entry  of 
Olaf  Tryggveson  upon  the  scene, — a  very  much  grander  man  ; 
in  regard  to  whom  the  wiles  and  traps  of  Hakon  proved  to 
be  a  recipe,  not  on  Tryggveson,  but  on  the  wily  Hakon  him- 
self, as  shall  now  be  seen  straightway. 


CHAPTER    VI 

OLAF    TRYGGVESON 

Hakon,  in  late  times,  had  heard  of  a  famous  stirring  person, 
victorious  in  various  lands  and  seas,  latterly  united  in  sea- 
robbery  with  Svein,  Prince  Royal  of  Denmark,  afterwards 
King  Svein  of  the  Double-beard  ('  Zvae  Shiaeg^  Twa  Shag) 
or  fork-beard,  both  of  whom  had  already  done  transcendent 
feats  in  the  viking  way  during  this  copartnery.      The  fame 


OLAF    TRYGGVESON  227 

of  Svein,  and  this  stirring  personage,  whose  name  was  '  Ole,' 
and,  recently,  their  stupendous  feats  in  plunder  of  England, 
siege  of  London,  and  other  wonders  and  splendours  of  viking- 
glory  and  success,  had  gone  over  all  the  North,  awakening 
the  attention  of  Hakon  and  everybody  there.  The  name  of 
'  Ole  "*  was  enigmatic,  mysterious,  and  even  dangerous-looking 
to  Hakon  Jarl ;  who  at  length  sent  out  a  confidential  spy  to 
investigate  this  '  Ole ' ;  a  feat  which  the  confidential  spy  did 
completely  accomplish, — by  no  means  to  Hakon's  profit !  The 
mysterious  '  Ole '  proved  to  be  no  other  than  Olaf\  son  of 
Tryggve,  destined  to  blow  Hakon  Jarl  suddenly  into  destruc- 
tion, and  become  famous  among  the  heroes  of  the  Norse 
world. 

Of  Olaf  Trj'ggveson  one  always  hopes  there  might,  one  day, 
some  real  outline  of  a  biography  be  written  ;  fished  from  the 
abysses  where  (as  usual)  it  welters  deep  in  foul  neighbourhood 
for  the  present.  Farther  on  we  intend  a  few  words  more 
upon  the  matter.  But  in  this  place  all  that  concerns  us  iu 
it  limits  itself  to  the  two  following  facts  :  first,  that  Hakon's 
confidential  spy  '  found  Ole  in  Dublin  '' ;  picked  acquaintance 
with  him,  got  him  to  confess  that  he  was  actually  Olaf,  son 
of  Tryggve  (the  Tryggve,  whom  Blood-axe's  fierce  widow  and 
her  sons  had  murdered) ;  got  him  gradually  to  own  that 
perhaps  an  expedition  into  Norway  might  have  its  chances ; 
and  finally  that,  under  such  a  wise  and  loyal  guidance  as  his 
(the  confidential  spy's,  whose  friendship  for  Tryggveson  was 
so  indubitable),  he  (Tryggveson)  would  actually  try  it  upon 
Hakon  Jarl,  the  dissolute  old  scoundrel.  Fact  second  is,  that 
about  the  time  they  two  set  sail  from  Dublin  on  their  Norway 
expedition,  Hakon  Jarl  removed  to  Trondhjem,  then  called 
Lade ;  intending  to  pass  some  months  there. 

Now  just  about  the  time  when  Tryggveson,  spy,  and  party 
had  landed  in  Norway,  and  were  advancing  upon  Lade,  with 
what  support  from  the  public  could  be  got,  dissolute  old 
Hakon  Jarl  had  heard  of  one  Gudrun,  a  Bonder's  wife,  un- 
paralleled in  beauty,  who  was  called  in  those  parts, « Sunbeam 


228         EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

of  the  Grove  "*  (so  inexpressibly  lovely) ;  and  sent  off  a  couple 
of  thralls  to  bring  her  to  him.  "  Never,"'  answered  Gudrun  ; 
"  never,"  her  indignant  husband  ;  in  a  tone  dangerous  and  dis- 
pleasing to  these  Court  thralls  ;  who  had  to  leave  rapidly,  but 
threatened  to  return  in  better  strength  before  long.  Where- 
upon, instantly,  the  indignant  Bonder  and  his  Sunbeam  of 
the  Grove  sent  out  their  war-arrow,  rousing  all  the  country 
into  angry  promptitude,  and  more  than  one  perhaps  into 
greedy  hope  of  revenge  for  their  own  injuries.  The  rest  of 
Hakon's  history  now  rushes  on  with  extreme  rapidity. 

Sunbeam  of  the  Grove,  when  next  demanded  of  her  Bonder, 
has  the  whole  neighbourhood  assembled  in  arms  round  her; 
rumour  of  Tryggveson  is  fast  making  it  the  whole  country. 
Hakon's  insolent  messengers  are  cut  in  pieces ;  Hakon  finds 
he  cannot  fly  under  cover  too  soon.  With  a  single  slave  he 
flies  that  same  night ; — but  whitherward  .''  Can  think  of  no 
safe  place,  except  to  some  old  mistress  of  his,  who  lives  retired 
in  that  neighbourhood,  and  has  some  pity  or  regard  for  the 
wicked  old  Hakon.  Old  mistress  does  receive  him,  pities  him, 
will  do  all  she  can  to  protect  and  hide  him.  But  how,  by 
what  uttermost  stretch  of  female  artifice  hide  him  here;  every 
one  will  search  here  first  of  all  !  Old  mistress,  by  the  slave's 
help,  extemporises  a  cellar  under  the  floor  of  her  pig-house ; 
sticks  Hakon  and  slave  into  that,  as  the  one  safe  seclusion 
she  can  contrive.  Hakon  and  slave,  begrunted  by  the  pigs 
above  them,  tortured  by  the  devils  within  and  about  them, 
passed  two  days  in  circumstances  more  and  more  horrible. 
For  they  heard,  through  their  light-slit  and  breathing-slit, 
the  triumph  of  Tryggveson  proclaiming  itself  by  Tryggveson's 
own  lips,  who  had  mounted  a  big  boulder  near  by  and  was 
victoriously  speaking  to  the  people,  winding  up  with  a 
promise  of  honours  and  rewards  to  whoever  should  bring 
him  wicked  old  Hakon's  head.  Wretched  Hakon,  justly 
suspecting  his  slave,  tried  to  at  least  keep  himself  awake. 
Slave  did  keep  himself  awake  till  Hakon  dozed  or  slept, 
then  swiftly  cut  off  Hakon's  head,  and  plunged  out  with  it 


OLAF    TRYGGVESON  229 

to  the  presence  of  Tryggveson.  Tryggveson,  detesting  the 
traitor,  useful  as  the  treachery  was,  cut  off  the  slave's  head 
too,  had  it  hung  up  along  with  Hakon''s  on  the  pinnacle 
of  the  Lade  Gallows,  where  the  populace  pelted  both  heads 
with  stones  and  many  curses,  especially  the  more  important 
of  the  two.  '  Hakon  the  Bad  '  ever  henceforth,  instead  of 
Hakon  the  Rich. 

This  was  the  end  of  Hakon  Jarl,  the  last  support  of 
heathenry  in  Norway,  among  other  characteristics  he  had  : 
a  strong-handed,  hard-headed,  very  relentless,  greedy  and 
wicked  being.  He  is  reckoned  to  have  ruled  in  Norway,  or 
mainly  ruled,  either  in  the  struggling  or  triumphant  state,  for 
about  thirty  years  (965-95  ?).  He  and  his  seemed  to  have 
formed,  by  chance  rather  than  design,  the  chief  opposition 
which  the  Haarfagr  posterity  throughout  its  whole  course 
experienced  in  Norway.  Such  the  cost  to  them  of  killing 
good  Jarl  Sigurd,  in  GreyfelPs  time !  For  '  curses,  like 
chickens,"*  do  sometimes  visibly  '  come  home  to  feed,'  as  they 
always,  either  visibly  or  else  invisibly,  are  punctually  sure 
to  do. 

Hakon  Jarl  is  considerably  connected  Avith  the  Farbcr 
Saga ;  often  mentioned  there,  and  comes  out  perfectly  in 
character ;  an  altogether  worldly-wise  man  of  the  I'oughest 
type,  not  without  a  turn  for  practicality  of  kindness  to  those 
who  would  really  be  of  use  to  him.  His  tendencies  to  magic 
also  are  not  forgotten. 

Hakon  left  two  sons,  Eric  and  Svein,  often  also  mentioned 
in  this  Saga.  On  their  fathers  death  they  fled  to  Sweden, 
to  Denmark,  and  were  busy  stirring  up  troubles  in  those 
countries  against  Olaf  Tryggveson  ;  till  at  length,  by  a 
favourable  combination,  under  their  auspices  chiefly,  they 
got  his  bi'ief  and  noble  reign  put  an  end  to.  Nay,  further- 
more, Jarl  Eric  left  sons,  especially  an  elder  son,  named 
also  Eric,  who  proved  a  sore  affliction,  and  a  continual  stone 
of  stumbling  to  a  new  generation  of  Haarfagrs,  and  so 
continued  the  curse  of  Sigurd's  murder  upon  them. 


230        EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

Towards  the  end  of  this  Hakon's  reign  it  was  that  the 
discovery  of  America  took  place  (985).  Actual  discovery, 
it  appears,  by  Eric  the  Red,  an  Icelander ;  concerning  which 
there  has  been  abundant  investigation  and  discussion  in  our 
time.  Gimmngagxip  (Roaring  Abyss)  is  thought  to  be  the 
mouth  of  Behring's  Straits  in  Baffin's  Bay;  Big  Helloland, 
the  coast  from  Cape  Walsingham  to  near  Newfoundland ; 
Little  Helloland,  Newfoundland  itself.  Maryland  was  Lower 
Canada,  New  Brunswick,  and  Nova  Scotia.  Southward 
thence  to  Chesapeake  Bay  was  called  Wine  Land  (wild  grapes 
still  grow  in  Rhode  Island,  and  more  luxuriantly  further 
south).  White  Mail's  Land,  called  also  Great  Ireland,  is 
supposed  to  mean  the  two  Carolinas,  down  to  the  Southern 
Cape  of  Florida.  In  Dahlmann's  opinion,  the  Irish  them- 
selves might  even  pretend  to  have  probably  been  the  first 
discoverers  of  America ;  they  had  evidently  got  to  Iceland 
itself  before  the  Norse  exiles  found  it  out.  It  appears  to 
be  certain  that,  from  the  end  of  the  tenth  century  to  the 
early  part  of  the  fourteenth,  there  was  a  dim  knowledge  of 
those  distant  shores  extant  in  the  Norse  mind,  and  even 
some  straggling  series  of  visits  thither  by  roving  Norsemen ; 
though,  as  only  danger,  difficulty,  and  no  profit  resulted,  the 
visits  ceased,  and  the  whole  matter  sank  into  oblivion,  and, 
but  for  the  Icelandic  talent  of  writing  in  the  long  winter 
nights,  would  never  have  been  heard  of  by  posterity  at  all. 


CHAPTER    VII 

REIGN    OF    OLAF    TRYGGVESON 

Olaf  Tryggveson  (a.d.  995-1000)  also  makes  a  great 
figure  in  the  Faroer  Saga,  and  recounts  there  his  early 
troubles,  which  were  strange  and  many.  He  is  still  reckoned 
a  grand  hero  of  the  North,  though  his  vafes  now  is  only 
Snorro  Sturleson  of  Iceland.  Tryggveson  had  indeed  many 
adventures    in    the    world.      His    poor   mother,    Astrid,    was 


REIGN    OF    OLAF    TRYGGVESON      231 

obliged  to  fly,  on  murder  of  her  husband  by  Gunhild, — to 
fly  for  life,  three  months  before  he,  her  little  Olaf,  was  born. 
She  lay  concealed  in  reedy  islands,  fled  through  trackless 
forests ;  reached  her  father's  with  the  little  baby  in  her  arms, 
and  lay  deep-hidden  there,  tended  only  by  her  father  himself; 
Gunhild's  pursuit  being  so  incessant,  and  keen  as  with  sleuth- 
hounds.  Poor  Astrid  had  to  fly  again,  deviously  to  Sweden, 
to  Esthland  (Esthonia),  to  Russia.  In  Esthland  she  was  sold 
as  a  slave,  quite  parted  from  her  boy, —  who  also  was  sold, 
and  again  sold  ;  but  did  at  last  fall  in  with  a  kinsman  high 
in  the  Russian  service ;  did  from  him  find  redemption  and 
help,  and  so  rose,  in  a  distinguished  manner,  to  manhood, 
victorious  self-help,  and  recovery  of  his  kingdom  at  last.  He 
even  met  his  mother  again,  he  as  King  of  Norway,  she  as  one 
wonderfully  lifted  out  of  darkness  into  new  life  and  happiness 
still  in  store. 

Grown  to  manhood,  Tryggveson, — now  become  acquainted 
with  his  birth,  and  with  his,  alas,  hopeless  claims, —  left 
Russia  for  the  one  profession  open  to  him,  that  of  sea- 
robbery  ;  and  did  feats  without  number  in  that  questionable 
line  in  many  seas  and  scenes, — in  England  latterly,  and  most 
conspicuously  of  all.  In  one  of  his  courses  thither,  after 
long  labours  in  the  Hebrides,  Man,  Wales,  and  down  the 
western  shores  to  the  very  Land's  End  and  farther,  he  paused 
at  the  Scilly  Islands  for  a  little  while.  He  was  told  of  a 
wonderful  Christian  hermit  living  strangely  in  these  sea- 
solitudes  ;  had  the  curiosity  to  seek  him  out,  examine, 
question,  and  discourse  with  him  ;  and,  after  some  reflection, 
accepted  Christian  bajitism  from  the  venerable  man.  In 
Siiorro  the  story  is  involved  in  miracle,  rumour,  and  fable  ; 
but  the  fact  itself  seems  certain,  and  is  very  interesting ;  the 
great,  wild,  noble  soul  of  fierce  Olaf  opening  to  this  wonderful 
gospel  of  tidings  from  beyond  the  world,  tidings  which 
infinitely  transcended  all  else  he  had  ever  heard  or  dreamt  of! 
It  seems  certain  he  was  baptised  here ;  date  not  fixable ; 
shortly  before  poor  heart-broken  Dunstan's  death,  or  shortly 


232        EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

after;  most  English  churches,  monasteries  especially,  lying 
burnt,  under  continual  visitation  of  the  Danes.  Olaf,  such 
baptism  notwithstanding,  did  not  quit  his  viking  profession ; 
indeed,  what  other  was  there  for  him  in  the  world  as  yet  ? 

We  mentioned  his  occasional  copartneries  with  Svein  of 
the  Double-beard,  now  become  King  of  Denmark,  but  the 
greatest  of  these,  and  the  alone  interesting  at  this  time,  is 
their  joint  invasion  of  England,  and  Tryggveson's  exploits 
and  fortunes  there  some  years  after  that  adventure  of  baptism 
in  the  Scilly  Isles.  Svein  and  he  'were  above  a  year  in 
England  together,'  this  time  :  they  steered  up  the  Thames 
with  three  hundred  ships  and  many  fighters  ;  siege,  or  at  least 
furious  assault,  of  London  was  their  first  or  main  enterprise,, 
but  it  did  not  succeed.  The  Saxon  Chronicle  gives  date  to 
it,  A.D.  994,  and  names  expressly,  as  Sveins  co-partner, 
'  Olaus,  king  of  Norway,' — which  he  was  as  yet  far  from 
being;  but  in  regard  to  the  Year  of  Grace  the  Saxon 
Chronicle  is  to  be  held  indisputable,  and,  indeed,  has  the 
field  to  itself  in  this  matter.  Famed  Olaf  Tryggveson,  seen 
visibly  at  the  siege  of  London,  year  994,  it  throws  a  kind 
of  momentary  light  to  us  over  that  disastrous  whirlpool  of 
miseries  and  confusions,  all  dark  and  painful  to  the  fancy 
otherwise  !  This  big  voyage  and  furious  siege  of  London  is 
Svein  Double-beard's  first  real  attempt  to  fulfil  that  vow  of 
his  at  Father  Blue-tooth's  '  funeral  ale,'  and  conquer  England, 
— which  it  is  a  pity  he  could  not  yet  do.  Had  London  now 
fallen  to  him,  it  is  pretty  evident  all  England  must  have 
followed,  and  poor  England,  with  Svein  as  king  over  it,  been 
delivered  from  immeasurable  woes,  which  had  to  last  some 
two-and-twenty  years  farther,  before  this  result  could  be 
arrived  at.  But  finding  London  impregnable  for  the  moment 
(no  ship  able  to  get  athwart  the  bridge,  and  many  Danes 
perishing  in  the  attempt  to  do  it  by  swimming),  Svein  and 
Olaf  turned  to  other  enterprises ;  all  England  in  a  manner 
Iving  open  to  them,  turn  which  way  they  liked.  They 
burnt  and  plundered  over  Kent,  over  Hampshire,  Sussex  ;  they 


REIGN    OF    OLAF   TRYGGVESON      233 

stormed  far  and  wide  ;  world  lying  all  before  them  where  to 
choose.  Wretched  Ethelred,  as  the  one  invention  he  could 
fall  upon,  offered  them  Danegelt  (16,000Z.  of  silver  this  year, 
but  it  rose  in  other  years  as  high  as  48,000Z.) ;  the  desperate 
Ethelred,  a  clear  method  of  quenching  fire  by  pouring  oil  on 
it !  Svein  and  Olaf  accepted  ;  withdrew  to  Southampton, — 
Olaf  at  least  did, — till  the  money  was  got  ready.  Strange 
to  think  of,  fierce  Svein  of  the  Double-beard,  and  conquest 
of  England  by  him ;  this  had  at  last  become  the  one 
salutary  result  which  remained  for  that  distracted,  down- 
trodden, now  utterly  chaotic  and  anarchic  country.  A 
conquering  Svein,  followed  by  an  ably  and  earnestly  admin- 
istrative, as  well  as  conquering,  Knut  (whom  Dahlmann 
compares  to  Charlemagne),  Avere  thus  by  the  mysterious 
destinies  appointed  the  effective  saviours  of  England. 

Tryggveson,  on  this  occasion,  was  a  good  while  at  South- 
ampton ;  and  roamed  extensively  about,  easily  victorious 
over  everything,  if  resistance  were  attempted,  but  finding- 
little  or  none ;  and  acting  now  in  a  peaceable  or  even 
friendly  qaj^acity.  In  the  Southampton  country  he  came 
in  contact  with  the  then  Bishop  of  Winchester,  afterwards 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  excellent  Elphegus,  still  dimly 
decipherable  to  us  as  a  man  of  great  natural  discern- 
ment, piety,  and  inborn  veracity ;  a  hero-soul,  probably  of 
real  brotherhood  with  Olafs  own.  He  even  made  court 
visits  to  King  Ethelred  ;  one  visit  to  him  at  Andover  of  a 
very  serious  nature.  By  Elphegus,  as  we  can  discover,  he 
was  introduced  into  the  real  depths  of  the  Christian  faith. 
Elphegus,  with  due  solemnity  of  apparatus,  in  presence  of 
the  king,  at  Andover,  baptised  Olaf  anew,  and  to  him  Olaf 
engaged  that  he  would  never  plunder  in  England  any  more  ; 
which  promise,  too,  he  kept.  In  fact,  not  long  after,  Svein's 
conquest  of  England  being  in  an  evidently  forward  state, 
Tryggveson  (having  made,  withal,  a  great  English  or  Irish 
marriage, — a  dowager  Princess,  who  had  voluntarily  fallen  in 
love  with  him, — see  Snorro  for  this  fine  romantic  fact !)  mainly 


234        EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

resided  in  our  island  for  two  or  three  years,  or  else  in  Dublin, 
in  the  precincts  of  the  Danish  Court  there  in  the  Sister  Isle. 
Accordingly  it  was  in  Dublin,  as  above  noted,  that  Hakon''s 
spy  found  him  ;  and  from  the  Liffey  that  his  squadron  sailed, 
through  the  Hebrides,  through  the  Orkneys,  plundering  and 
baptising  in  their  strange  way,  towards  such  success  as  we 
have  seen. 

Tryggveson  made  a  stout,  and,  in  effect,  victorious  and 
glorious  struggle  for  himself  as  king.  Daily  and  hourly 
vigilant  to  do  so,  often  enough  by  soft  and  even  merry 
methods, — for  he  was  a  witty,  jocund  man,  and  had  a  fine 
ringing  laugh  in  him,  and  clear  pregnant  words  ever  ready, — 
or  if  soft  methods  would  not  serve,  then  by  hard  and  even 
hardest  he  put  down  a  great  deal  of  miscellaneous  anarchy 
in  Norway ;  was  especially  busy  against  heathenism  (devil- 
worship  and  its  rites) :  this,  indeed,  may  be  called  the  focus 
and  heart  of  all  his  royal  endeavour  in  Norway,  and  of  all 
the  troubles  he  now  had  with  his  people  there.  For  this 
was  a  serious,  vital,  all-comprehending  matter ;  devil-worship, 
a  thing  not  to  be  tolerated  one  moment  longer  than  you 
could  by  any  method  help  !  Olaf's  success  was  intermittent, 
of  varying  complexion ;  but  his  effort,  swift  or  slow,  was 
strong  and  continual ;  and  on  the  whole  he  did  succeed. 
Take  a  sample  or  two  of  that  wonderful  conversion 
process  : 

At  one  of  his  first  Things  he  found  the  Bonders  all 
assembled  in  arms  ;  resolute  to  the  death  seemingly,  against 
his  proposal  and  him.  Tryggveson  said  little ;  waited 
impassive,  "  What  your  reasons  are,  good  men  ? "  One 
zealous  Bonder  started  up  in  passionate  parliamentary 
eloquence ;  but  after  a  sentence  or  two,  broke  down ;  one, 
and  then  another,  and  still  another,  and  remained  all  three 
staring  in  open-mouthed  silence  there  !  The  peasant- 
proprietors  accepted  the  phenomenon  as  ludicrous,  ])erhaps 
partly  as  miraculous  withal,  and  consented  to  baptism  this 
time. 


REIGN    OF    OLAF    TRYGGVESON      235 

On  another  occasion  of  a  Thing,  which  had  assembled  near 
some  heathen  temple  to  meet  him, — temple  where  Hakon 
Jarl  had  done  much  repairing,  and  set  up  many  idol  figures 
and  sumptuous  ornaments,  regardless  of  expense,  especially 
a  very  big  and  splendid  Thor,  with  massive  gold  collar 
round  the  neck  of  him,  not  the  like  of  it  in  Norway, — King 
Olaf  Tryggveson  was  clamorously  invited  by  the  Bonders  to 
step  in  there,  enlighten  his  eyes,  and  partake  of  the  sacred 
rites.  Instead  of  which  he  rushed  into  the  temple  with  his 
armed  men ;  smashed  down,  with  his  own  battle-axe,  the 
god  Thor,  prostrate  on  the  ground  at  one  stroke,  to  set  an 
example ;  and,  in  a  few  minutes,  had  the  whole  Hakon 
Pantheon  wrecked  ;  packing  up  meanwhile  all  the  gold 
and  preciosities  accumulated  there  (not  forgetting  Thor's 
illustrious  gold  collar,  of  which  we  shall  hear  again),  and 
victoriously  took  the  plunder  home  with  him  for  his  own 
royal  uses  and  behoof  of  the  state. 

In  other  cases,  though  a  friend  to  strong  measures,  he  had 
to  hold  in,  and  await  the  favourable  moment.  Thus  once, 
in  beginning  a  parliamentary  address,  so  soon  as  he  came  to 
touch  upon  Christianity,  the  Bonders  rose  in  murmurs,  in 
vociferations  and  jingling  of  arms,  which  quite  drowned  the 
royal  voice;  declared,  they  had  taken  arms  against  king 
Hakon  the  Good  to  compel  him  to  desist  from  his  Christian 
proposals ;  and  they  did  not  think  king  Olaf  a  higher  man 
than  him  (Hakon  the  Good).  The  king  then  said,  '  He 
purposed  coming  to  them  next  Yule  to  their  great 
sacrificial  feast,  to  see  for  himself  what  their  customs  were,' 
which  pacified  the  Bonders  for  this  time.  The  appointed 
place  of  meeting  was  again  a  Hakon-Jarl  Temple,  not  yet 
done  to  ruin ;  chief  shrine  in  those  Trondhjem  parts,  I 
believe :  there  should  Tryggveson  appear  at  Yule.  Well, 
but  before  Yule  came,  Tryggveson  made  a  great  banquet 
in  his  palace  at  Trondhjem,  and  invited  far  and  wide,  all 
manner  of  important  persons  out  of  the  district  as  guests 
there.      Banquet  hardly  done,  Tryggveson  gave  some  slight 


236        EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

signal,  upon  which  armed  men  strode  in,  seized  eleven  of 
these  principal  persons,  and  the  king  said  :  "  Since  he  himself 
was  to  become  a  heathen  again,  and  do  sacrifice,  it  was  his 
purpose  to  do  it  in  the  highest  form,  namely,  that  of  Human 
Sacrifice ;  and  this  time  not  of  slaves  and  malefactors,  but 
of  the  best  men  in  the  country  ! "  In  which  stringent 
circumstances  the  eleven  seized  persons,  and  company  at 
large,  gave  unanimous  consent  to  baptism  ;  straightway 
received  the  same,  and  abjured  their  idols ;  but  were  not 
permitted  to  go  home  till  they  had  left,  in  sons,  brothers, 
and  other  precious  relatives,  sufficient  hostages  in  the  king's 
hands. 

By  unwearied  industry  of  this  and  better  kinds,  Tryggveson 
had  trampled  down  idolatry,  so  far  as  form  Avent, — how 
far  in  substance  may  be  greatly  doubted.  But  it  is  to 
be  remembered  withal,  that  always  on  the  back  of  these 
compulsory  adventures  there  followed  English  bishops,  priests 
and  preachers  ;  whereby  to  the  open-minded,  conviction,  to 
all  degrees  of  it,  was  attainable,  while  silence  and  passivity 
became  the  duty  or  necessity  of  the  unconvinced  party. 

In  about  two  years  Norway  was  all  gone  over  with  a 
rough  harrow  of  conversion.  Heathenism  at  least  con- 
strained to  be  silent  and  outwardly  conformable.  Tryggveson 
next  turned  his  attention  to  Iceland,  sent  one  Thangbrand, 
priest  from  Saxony,  of  wonderful  qualities,  military  as  well 
as  theological,  to  try  and  convert  Iceland.  Thangbrand 
made  a  few  converts ;  for  Olaf  had  already  many  estimable 
Iceland  friends,  Avhom  he  liked  much,  and  was  much  liked 
by ;  and  conversion  was  the  ready  road  to  his  favour. 
Thangbrand,  I  find,  lodged  with  Hall  of  Sida  (familiar 
acquaintance  of  '  Burnt  Njal,"  whose  Saga  has  its  admirers 
among  us  even  now).  Thangbrand  converted  Hall  and  one 
or  two  other  leading  men ;  but  in  general  he  was  reckoned 
quarrelsome  and  blusterous  rather  than  eloquent  and  piously 
convincing.  Two  skalds  of  repute  made  biting  lampoons 
upon  Thangbrand,  whom  Thangbrand,  by  two  opportunities 


REIGN    OF    OLAF    TRYGGVESON      237 

that  offered,  cut  down  and  did  to  death  because  of  their 
skaldic  quaHty.  Another  he  killed  with  his  own  hand,  I 
know  not  for  what  reason.  In  brief,  after  about  a  year, 
Thangbrand  returned  to  Norway  and  king  Olaf;  declaring 
the  Icelanders  to  be  a  perverse,  satirical,  and  inconvertible 
people,  having  himself,  the  record  says,  '  been  the  death  of 
three  men  there.'  King  Olaf  was  in  high  rage  at  this  result ; 
but  was  persuaded  by  the  Icelanders  about  him  to  try  farther, 
and  by  a  milder  instrument.  He  accordingly  chose  one 
Thormod,  a  pious,  patient,  and  kindly  man,  who,  within  the 
next  year  or  so,  did  actually  accomplish  the  matter ;  namely, 
get  Christianity,  by  open  vote,  declared  at  Thingvalla  by  the 
general  Thing  of  Iceland  there  ;  the  roar  of  a  big  thunder- 
clap at  the  right  moment  rather  helping  the  conclusion,  if  I 
recollect.      Whereupon  Olafs  joy  was  no  doubt  great. 

One  general  result  of  these  successful  operations  was  the 
discontent,  to  all  manner  of  degrees,  on  the  part  of  many 
Norse  individuals,  against  this  glorious  and  victorious,  but 
peremptory  and  terrible  king  of  theirs.  Tryggveson,  I  fancy, 
did  not  much  regard  all  that ;  a  man  of  joyful,  cheery 
temper,  halsitually  contemptuous  of  danger.  Another  trivial 
misfortune  that  befell  in  these  conversion  operations,  and 
became  important  to  him,  he  did  not  even  know  of,  and 
would  have  much  despised  if  he  had.  It  was  this  :  Sigrid, 
queen  dowager  of  Sweden,  thought  to  be  amongst  the  most 
shining  women  of  the  world,  was  also  known  for  one  of  the 
most  imperious,  revengeful,  and  relentless,  and  had  got  for 
herself  the  name  of  Sigrid  the  Proud.  In  her  high  widow- 
hood she  had  naturally  manv  wooers  ;  but  treated  them  in  a 
manner  unexampled.  Two  of  her  suitors,  a  simultaneous 
Two,  were.  King  Harald  Graenske  (a  cousin  of  King  Trygg- 
veson's  and  kind  of  king  in  some  district,  by  sufferance  of 
the  late  Hakon's),  —  this  luckless  Graenske  and  the  then 
Russian  Sovereign  as  well,  name  not  worth  mentioning,  were 
zealous  suitors  of  Queen  Dowager  Sigrid,  and  were  perversely 
slow  to  accept  the  negative,  which  in  her  heart  was  inexor- 


238        EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

able  for  both,  though  the  expression  of  it  could  not  be  quite 
so  emphatic.  By  ill-luck  for  them  they  came  once, — from 
the  far  West,  Grsenske ;  from  the  far  East,  the  Russian ; — 
and  arrived  both  together  at  Sigrid's  court,  to  prosecute  their 
importunate,  and  to  her  odious  and  tiresome  suit ;  much, 
how  very  much,  to  her  impatience  and  disdain.  She  lodged 
them  both  in  some  old  mansion,  which  she  had  contiguous, 
and  got  compendiously  furnished  for  them ;  and  there,  I 
know  not  whether  on  the  first  or  on  the  second,  or  on  what 
following  night,  this  unparalleled  Queen  Sigrid  had  the 
house  surrounded,  set  on  fire,  and  the  two  suitors  and  their 
people  burnt  to  ashes  !  No  more  of  bother  from  these  two 
at  least !  This  appears  to  be  a  fact ;  and  it  could  not  be 
unknown  to  Tryggveson. 

In  spite  of  which,  however,  there  went  from  Tryggveson, 
who  was  now  a  widower,  some  incipient  marriage  proposals 
to  this  proud  widow  ;  by  whom  they  were  favourably  received  ; 
as  from  the  brightest  man  in  all  the  world,  they  might  seem 
worth  being.  Now,  in  one  of  these  anti-heathen  onslaughts 
of  King  Olafs  on  the  idol  temples  of  Hakon — (I  think  it 
was  that  case  where  Olafs  own  battle-axe  struck  down  the 
monstrous  refulgent  Thor,  and  conquered  an  immense  gold 
ring  from  the  neck  of  him,  or  from  the  door  of  his  temple), 
— a  huge  gold  ring,  at  any  rate,  had  come  into  Olafs  hands ; 
and  this  he  bethought  him  might  be  a  pretty  present  to 
Queen  Sigrid,  the  now  favourable,  though  the  proud.  Sigrid 
received  the  ring  with  joy  ;  fancied  what  a  collar  it  would 
make  for  her  own  fair  neck  ;  but  noticed  that  her  two  gold- 
smiths, weighing  it  on  their  fingers,  exchanged  a  glance. 
"  What  is  that  ? "  exclaimed  Queen  Sigrid.  "  Nothing," 
answered  they,  or  endeavoured  to  answer,  dreading  mischief. 
But  Sigrid  compelled  them  to  break  open  the  ring ;  and 
there  was  found,  all  along  the  inside  of  it,  an  occult  ring  of 
copper,  not  a  heart  of  gold  at  all !  "■  Ha,"  said  the  proud 
Queen,  flinging  it  away,  "  he  that  could  deceive  in  this 
matter   can    deceive    in    many    others  I "      And    was    in    hot 


KEIGN    OF    OLAF    TllYGGVESON      239 

wrath  with  Olaf ;  though,  by  degrees,  again  she  took  milder 
thoughts. 

Milder  thoughts,  we  say  ;  and  consented  to  a  meeting  next 
autumn,  at  some  half-way  station,  where  their  great  business 
might  be  brought  to  a  happy  settlement  and  betrothment. 
Both  Olaf  Tryggveson  and  the  high  dowager  appear  to  have 
been  tolerably  of  willing  mind  at  this  meeting ;  but  Olaf 
interposed,  what  was  always  one  condition  with  him,  "  Thou 
must  consent  to  baptism,  and  give  up  thy  idol-gods."" 
"  They  are  the  gods  of  all  my  forefathers,"  answered  the 
lady  ;  "  choose  thou  what  gods  thou  pleasest,  but  leave  me 
mine."  Whereupon  an  altercation ;  and  Tryggveson,  as  was 
his  wont,  towered  up  into  shining  wrath,  and  exclaimed  at 
last,  "  Why  should  I  care  about  thee  then,  old  faded  heathen 
creature  ?  "  And  impatiently  wagging  his  glove,  hit  her,  or 
slightly  switched  her,  on  the  face  with  it,  and  contemptuously 
turning  away,  walked  out  of  the  adventure.  "  This  is  a  feat 
that  may  cost  thee,  dear  one  day,"  said  Sigrid.  And  in  the 
end  it  came  to  do  so,  little  as  the  magnificent  Olaf  deigned 
to  think  of  it  at  the  moment. 

One  of-the  last  scuffles  I  remember  of  Olafs  having  with 
his  refractory  heathens,  was  at  a  Thing  in  Hordaland  or 
Rogaland,  far  in  the  North,  where  the  chief  opposition  hero 
was  one  Jaernskaegg  ('  ironbeard,'  Scottice  '  Airn-shag,"'  as  it 
were  ! ).  Here  again  was  a  grand  heathen  temple,  Hakon 
JarFs  building,  with  a  splendid  Thor  in  it  and  much  idol 
furniture.  The  king  stated  what  was  his  constant  wish  here 
as  elsewhere,  but  had  no  sooner  entered  upon  the  subject  of 
Christianity  than  universal  murmur,  rising  into  clangour  and 
violent  dissent,  interrupted  him,  and  Ironbeard  took  up  the 
discourse  in  reply.  Ironbeard  did  not  break  down ;  on  the 
contrary,  he,  with  great  brevity,  emphasis,  and  clearness, 
signified  "that  the  proposal  to  reject  their  old  gods  was  in 
the  highest  degree  unacceptable  to  this  Thing;  that  it  was 
contrary  to  bargain,  withal;  so  that  if  it  were  insisted  on, 
they  would  have  to  fight  with  the  king  about  it ;  and  in  fact 


240         EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

were  now  ready  to  do  so."  In  reply  to  this,  Olaf,  without 
word  uttered,  but  merely  with  some  signal  to  the  trusty 
armed  men  he  had  with  him,  rushed  off  to  the  temple  close 
at  hand ;  burst  into  it,  shutting  the  door  behind  him ; 
smashed  Thor  and  Co.  to  destruction ;  then  reappearing 
victorious,  found  much  confusion  outside,  and,  in  particular, 
what  was  a  most  important  item,  the  rugged  Ironbeard  done 
to  death  by  Olafs  men  in  the  interim.  Which  entirely  dis- 
heartened the  Thing  from  fighting  at  that  moment ;  having 
now  no  leader  who  dared  to  head  them  in  so  dangerous  an 
enterprise.  So  that  every  one  departed  to  digest  his  rage  in 
silence  as  he  could. 

Matters  having  cooled  for  a  week  or  two,  there  was  another 
Thing  held ;  in  which  King  Olaf  testified  regret  for  the 
quarrel  that  had  fallen  out,  readiness  to  pay  what  mulct  was 
due  by  law  for  that  unlucky  homicide  of  Ironbeard  by  his 
people ;  and,  withal,  to  take  the  fair  daughter  of  Ironbeard 
to  wife,  if  all  would  comply  and  be  friends  with  him  in  other 
matters ;  which  was  the  course  resolved  on  as  most  con- 
venient :  accept  baptism,  we ;  marry  Jaernskaegg's  daughter, 
you.  This  bargain  held  on  both  sides.  The  wedding,  too, 
was  celebrated,  but  that  took  rather  a  strange  turn.  On  the 
morning  of  the  bride-night,  Olaf,  who  had  not  been  sleeping, 
though  his  fair  partner  thought  he  had,  opened  his  eyes,  and 
saw,  with  astonishment,  the  fair  partner  aiming  a  long  knife 
ready  to  strike  home  upon  him  !  Which  at  once  ended  their 
wedded  life  ;  poor  Demoiselle  Ironbeard  immediately  bundling 
off  with  her  attendants  home  again  ;  King  Olaf  into  the 
apartment  of  his  servants,  mentioning  there  what  had 
happened,  and  forbidding  any  of  them  to  follow  her. 

Olaf  Tryggveson,  though  his  kingdom  was  the  smallest  of 
the  Norse  Three,  had  risen  to  a  renown  over  all  the  Norse 
world,  which  neither  he  of  Denmark  nor  he  of  Sweden  could 
pretend  to  rival.  A  magnificent,  far-shining  man ;  more 
expert  in  all  '  bodily  exercises '  as  the  Norse  called  them,  than 
any  man   had   ever  been    before   him,   or  after   was.      Could 


REIGN    OF    OLAF   TllYGGVESON     241 

keep  five  daggers  in  the  air,  always  catching  the  proper  fifth 
by  its  handle,  and  sending  it  aloft  again ;  could  shoot 
supremely,  throw  a  javelin  with  either  hand  ;  and,  in  fact, 
in  battle  usually  threw  two  together.  These,  with  swimming, 
climbing,  leaping,  were  the  then  admirable  Fine  Arts  of  the 
North ;  in  all  which  Tryggveson  appears  to  have  been  the 
Raphael  and  the  Michael  Angelo  at  once.  Essentially 
definable,  too,  if  we  look  well  into  him,  as  a  wild  bit  of  real 
heroism,  in  such  rude  guise  and  environment ;  a  high,  true, 
and  great  human  soul.  A  jovial  burst  of  laughter  in  him, 
withal;  a  bright,  airy,  wise  way  of  speech;  dressed  beautifully 
and  with  care  ;  a  man  admired  and  loved  exceedingly  by 
those  he  liked  ;  dreaded  as  death  by  those  he  did  not  like. 
'  Hardly  any  king,'  says  Snorro,  '  was  ever  so  well  obeyed  ;  by 
one  class  out  of  zeal  and  love,  by  the  rest  out  of  dread.'  His 
glorious  course,  however,  was  not  to  last  long. 

King  Svein  of  the  Double-Beard  had  not  yet  completed 
his  conquest  of  England, — by  no  means  yet,  some  thirteen 
horrid  years  of  that  still  before  him  ! — when,  over  in  Den- 
mark, he  found  that  complaints  against  him  and  intricacies 
had  arisen,  on  the  part  principally  of  one  Burislav,  King  of 
the  Wends  (far  up  the  Baltic),  and  in  a  less  degree  with  the 
King  of  Sweden  and  other  minor  individuals.  Svein  earnestly 
applied  himself  to  settle  these,  and  have  his  hands  free. 
Burislav,  an  aged  heathen  gentleman,  proved  reasonable  and 
conciliatory;  so,  too,  the  King  of  Sweden,  and  Dowager  Queen 
Sigrid,  his  managing  mother.  Bargain  in  both  these  cases 
got  sealed  and  crowned  by  marriage,  Svein,  who  had  become 
a  widower  lately,  now  Avedded  Sigrid  ;  and  might  think,  pos- 
sibly enough,  he  had  got  a  proud  bargain,  though  a  heathen 
one.  Burislav  also  insisted  on  marriage  with  Princess  Thyri, 
the  Double-Beard's  sister.  Thyri,  inexpressibly  disinclined  to 
wed  an  aged  heathen  of  that  stamp,  pleaded  hard  with  her 
brother  ;  but  the  Double -Bearded  was  inexorable  ;  Thyri's 
wailings  and  entreaties  went  for  nothing.  With  some  guardian 
foster-brother,  and  a  serving-maid  or  two,  she  had  to  go  on 

VOL.  v.  ft 


242        EARLY    KINGS    OF   NORWAY 

this  hated  journey.  Old  Burislav,  at  sight  of  her,  blazed  out 
into  marriage-feast  of  supreme  magnificence,  and  was  charmed 
to  see  her,  but  Thyri  would  not  join  the  marriage  party; 
refused  to  eat  with  it  or  sit  with  it  at  all.  Day  after  day, 
for  six  days,  flatly  refused ;  and  after  nightfall  of  the  sixth, 
glided  out  with  her  foster-brother  into  the  woods,  into  by- 
paths and  inconceivable  wanderings ;  and,  in  effect,  got  home 
to  Denmark.  Brother  Svein  was  not  for  the  moment  there  ; 
probably  enough  gone  to  England  again.  But  Thyri  knew 
too  well  he  would  not  allow  her  to  stay  here,  or  anywhere 
that  he  could  help,  except  with  the  old  heathen  she  had  just 
fled  from. 

Thyri,  looking  round  the  world,  saw  no  likely  road  for  her, 
but  to  Olaf  Tryggveson  in  Norway ;  to  beg  protection  from 
the  most  heroic  man  she  knew  of  in  the  world.  Olaf,  except 
by  renown,  was  not  known  to  her  ;  but  by  renown  he  well 
Avas.  Olaf,  at  sight  of  her,  promised  protection  and  asylum 
against  all  mortals.  Nay,  in  discoursing  with  Thyri  Olaf 
perceived  more  and  more  clearly  what  a  fine  handsome  being, 
soul  and  body,  Thyri  was;  and  in  a  short  space  of  time  winded 
up  by  proposing  marriage  to  Thyri ;  who,  humbly,  and  we 
may  fancy  with  what  secret  joy,  consented  to  say  yes,  and 
become  Queen  of  Norway.  In  the  due  months  they  had  a 
little  son,  Harald ;  who,  it  is  credibly  recorded,  was  the  joy 
of  both  his  parents  ;  but  who,  to  their  inexpressible  sorrow, 
in  about  a  year  died,  and  vanished  from  them.  This,  and 
one  other  fact  now  to  be  mentioned,  is  all  the  wedded  history 
we  have  of  Thyri. 

The  other  fact  is,  that  Thyri  had,  by  inheritance  or  cove- 
nant, not  depending  on  her  marriage  with  old  Burislav,  con- 
siderable properties  in  Wendland  ;  which,  she  often  reflected, 
might  be  not  a  little  behoveful  to  her  here  in  Norway,  where 
her  civil-list  was  probably  but  straitened.  She  spoke  of  this 
to  her  husband  ;  but  her  husband  would  take  no  hold,  merely 
made  her  gifts,  and  said,  "  Pooh,  pooh,  can't  we  live  without 
old   Burislav  and  his  Wendland  properties  ? "      So  that  the 


REIGN    OF    OLAF    TRYGGVESON      MS 

lady  sank  into  ever  deeper  anxiety  and  eagerness  about  this 
Wendland  object ;  took  to  wee})ing  ;  sat  weeping  whole  days  ; 
and  when  Olaf  asked,  "  What  ails  thee,  then  ?  "  would  answer, 
or  did  answer  once,  "  What  a  different  man  my  father  Harakl 
Gormson  was"  (vulgarly  called  Blue-tooth),  "compared  with 
some  that  are  now  kings  !  For  no  King  Svein  in  the  world 
would  Harald  Gormson  have  given  up  his  own  or  his  wife's 
just  rights  ! "  Whereupon  Tryggveson  started  up,  exclaiming 
in  some  heat,  "  Of  thy  brother  Svein  I  never  was  afraid ;  if 
Svein  and  I  meet  in  contest,  it  will  not  be  Svein,  I  believe, 
that  conquers  ;  *"  and  went  off  in  a  towering  fume.  Consented, 
however,  at  last,  had  to  consent,  to  get  his  fine  fleet  equipped 
and  armed,  and  decide  to  sail  with  it  to  Wendland  to  have 
speech  and  settlement  with  King  Burislav. 

Tryggveson  had  already  ships  and  navies  that  were  the 
wonder  of  the  North.  Especially  in  building  war  ships, — 
the  Crane,  the  Serpent,  last  of  all  the  Long  Serpent,^ — he 
had,  for  size,  for  outward  beauty,  and  inward  perfection  of 
equipment,  transcended  all  example. 

This  new  sea  expedition  becanie  an  object  of  attention  to 
all  neighbours  ;  especially  Queen  Sigrid  the  Proud  and  Svein 
Double-Beard,  her  now  king,  were  attentive  to  it. 

"  This  insolent  Tryggveson,"  Queen  Sigrid  would  often  say, 
and  had  long  been  saying,  to  her  Svein,  "  to  marry  thy  sister 
without  leave  had  or  asked  of  thee ;  and  now  flaunting  forth 
his  war  navies,  as  if  he,  king  only  of  paltry  Norway,  were  the 
big  hero  of  the  North  !  Why  do  you  suffer  it,  you  kings 
really  great .'' " 

By  such  persuasions  and  reiterations.  King  Svein  of  Den- 
mark, King  Olaf  of  Sweden,  and  Jarl  Eric,  now  a  great  man 
there,  grown  rich  by  prosperous  sea  robbery  and  other  good 
management,  were  brought  to  take  the  matter  up,  and  combine 
strenuously  for  destruction  of  King  Olaf  Tryggveson  on  this 
grand  Wendland  expedition  of  his.      Fleets  and  forces  were 

1  His  Long  Serpent,  judged  by  some  to  be  of  the  size  of  a  frigate  of  forty-five 
guns  (Laing). 


244        EARLY    KINGS    OF   NORWAY 

with  best  diligence  got  ready  ;  and,  withal,  a  certain  Jarl 
Sigwald,  of  Jomsburg,  chieftain  of  the  Jomsvikings,  a  power- 
ful, plausible,  and  cunning  man,  was  appointed  to  find  means 
of  joining  himself  to  Tryggveson's  grand  voyage,  of  getting 
into  Tryggveson's  confidence,  and  keeping  Svein  Double-Beard, 
Eric,  and  the  Swedish  King  aware  of  all  his  movements. 

King  Olaf  Trjggveson,  unacquainted  with  all  this,  sailed 
away  in  summer,  with  his  splendid  fleet ;  went  through  the 
Belts  with  prosperous  winds,  under  bright  skies,  to  the  admira- 
tion of  both  shores.  Such  a  fleet,  with  its  shining  Serpents, 
long  and  short,  and  perfection  of  equipment  and  appearance, 
the  Baltic  never  saw  before.  Jarl  Sigwald  joined  with  new 
ships  by  the  way  :  "  Had,"  he  too,  "  a  visit  to  King  Burislav 
to  pay ;  how  could  he  ever  do  it  in  better  company  ? "  and 
studiously  and  skilfully  ingratiated  himself  with  King  Olaf. 
Old  Burislav,  when  they  arrived,  proved  altogether  courteous, 
handsome,  and  amenable ;  agreed  at  once  to  Olaf's  claims  for 
his  now  queen,  did  the  rites  of  hospitality  with  a  generous 
plenitude  to  Olaf;  who  cheerily  renewed  acquaintance  with 
that  country,  known  to  him  in  early  days  (the  cradle  of  his 
fortunes  in  the  viking  line),  and  found  old  friends  there  still 
surviving,  joyful  to  meet  him  again.  Jarl  Sigwald  encouraged 
these  delays  King  Svein  and  Co.  not  being  yet  quite  ready. 
"  Get  ready  !  "  Sigwald  directed  them,  and  they  diligently 
did.  Olafs  men,  their  business  now  done,  were  impatient  to 
be  home  ;  and  grudged  every  day  of  loitering  there ;  but,  till 
Sigwald  pleased,  such  his  power  of  flattering  and  cajoling 
Tryggveson,  they  could  not  get  away. 

At  length,  Sigwald's  secret  messengers  reporting  all  ready 
on  the  part  of  Svein  and  Co.,  Olaf  took  farewell  of  Burislav 
and  Wendland,  and  all  gladly  sailed  away.  Svein,  Eric,  and 
the  Swedish  king,  with  their  combined  fleets,  lay  in  wait 
behind  some  cape  in  a  safe  little  bay  of  some  island,  then 
called  Svolde,  but  not  in  our  time  to  be  found ;  the  Baltic 
tumults  in  the  fourteenth  century  having  swallowed  it,  as 
some  think,  and  leaving  us  uncertain  whether  it  was  in  the 


REIGN    OF    OLAF    TRYGGVESON     245 

neighbourhood  of  Rugen  Island  or  in  the  Sound  of  Elsinore, 
There  h\y  Svein,  Erie,  and  Co.  waiting  till  Tryggveson  and 
his  fleet  came  up,  Sigwald's  spy  messengers  daily  reporting 
what  progress  he  and  it  had  made.  At  length,  one  bright 
summer  morning,  the  fleet  made  appearance,  sailing  in  loose 
order,  Sigvvald,  as  one  acquainted  with  the  shoal  places,  steer- 
ing ahead,  and  showing  them  the  way. 

Snorro  rises  into  one  of  his  pictorial  fits,  seized  with 
enthusiasm  at  the  thought  of  such  a  fleet,  and  reports  to  us 
largely  in  what  order  Tryggveson's  winged  Coursers  of  the 
Deep,  in  long  series,  for  perhaps  an  hour  or  more,  came  on, 
and  what  the  three  potentates,  from  their  knoll  of  vantage, 
said  of  each  as  it  hove  in  sight.  Svein  thrice  over  guessed 
this  and  the  other  noble  vessel  to  be  the  Long  Serpent ;  Eric 
always  correcting  him,  "  No,  that  is  not  the  Long  Serpent 
yet""  (and  aside  always),  "Nor  shall  you  be  lord  of  it,  king, 
when  it  does  come."  The  Long  Serpent  itself  did  make 
appearance.  Eric,  Svein,  and  the  Swedish  king  hurried  on 
board,  and  pushed  out  of  their  hiding-place  into  the  open 
sea.  Treacherous  Sigwald,  at  the  beginning  of  all  this,  had 
suddenly  doubled  that  cape  of  theirs,  and  struck  into  the  bay 
out  of  sight,  leaving  the  foremost  Tryggveson  ships  astonished, 
and  uncertain  what  to  do,  if  it  were  not  simply  to  strike  sail 
and  wait  till  Olaf  himself  with  the  Long  Serpent  arrived. 

Olafs  chief  captains,  seeing  the  enemy's  huge  fleet  come 
out,  and  how  the  matter  lay,  strongly  advised  King  Olaf  to 
elude  this  stroke  of  treachery,  and,  with  all  sail,  hold  on  his 
course,  fight  being  now  on  so  unequal  terms.  Snorro  says, 
the  king,  high  on  the  quarter-deck  where  he  stood,  replied, 
"  Strike  the  sails  ;  never  shall  men  of  mine  think  of  flight.  I 
never  fled  from  battle.  Let  God  dispose  of  my  life ;  but 
flight  I  will  never  take."  And  so  the  battle  arrangements 
immediately  began,  and  the  battle  with  all  fury  went  loose ; 
and  lasted  hour  after  hour,  till  almost  sunset,  if  I  well  recollect. 
"Olaf  stood  on  the  Serpenfs  quarter-deck,"  says  Snorro,  "high 
over  the  others.      He  had  a  gilt  shield  and  a  helmet  inlaid 


246        EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

with  gold  ;  over  his  armour  he  had  a  short  red  coat,  and  was 
easily  distinguished  from  other  men.'"  Snorro's  account  of 
the  battle  is  altogether  animated,  graphic,  and  so  minute  that 
antiquaries  gather  from  it,  if  so  disposed  (which  we  but  little 
are),  what  the  methods  of  Norse  sea -fighting  were  ;  their 
shooting  of  arrows,  casting  of  javelins,  pitching  of  big  stones, 
ultimately  boarding,  and  mutual  clashing  and  smashing,  which 
it  would  not  avail  us  to  speak  of  here.  Olaf  stood  conspicuous 
all  day,  throwing  javelins,  of  deadly  aim,  with  both  hands  at 
once ;  encouraging,  fighting  and  commanding  like  a  highest 
sea-king. 

The  Danish  fleet,  the  Swedish  fleet,  were,  both  of  them, 
quickly  dealt  with,  and  successively  withdrew  out  of  shot- 
range.  And  then  Jarl  Eric  came  up,  and  fiercely  grappled 
with  the  Long  Serpent,  or,  rather,  with  her  surrounding 
comrades ;  and  gradually,  as  they  were  beaten  empty  of  men, 
with  the  Long  Serpent  herself.  The  fight  grew  ever  fiercer, 
more  furious.  Eric  was  supplied  with  new  men  from  the 
Swedes  and  Danes  ;  Olaf  had  no  such  resource,  except  from 
the  crews  of  his  own  beaten  ships,  and  at  length  this  also 
failed  him  ;  all  his  ships,  except  the  Long  Serpent,  being 
beaten  and  emptied.  Olaf  fought  on  unyielding.  Eric  twice 
boarded  him,  was  twice  repulsed.  Olaf  kept  his  quarter- 
deck ;  unconquerable,  though  left  now  more  and  more  hope- 
less, fatally  short  of  help.  A  tall  young  man,  called  Einar 
Tamberskelver,  very  celebrated  and  important  afterwards  in 
Norway,  and  already  the  best  archer  known,  kept  busy  with 
his  bow.  Twice  he  nearly  shot  Jarl  Eric  in  his  ship.  "  Shoot 
me  that  man,"  said  Jarl  Eric  to  a  bowman  near  him  ;  and, 
just  as  Tamberskelver  was  drawing  his  bow  the  third  time, 
an  arrow  hit  it  in  the  middle  and  broke  it  in  two.  "  What 
is  this  that  has  broken  ?  "  asked  King  Olaf.  "  Norway  from 
thy  hand,  king,"  answered  Tamberskelver.  Tryggveson's  men, 
he  observed  with  surprise,  were  striking  violently  on  Eric's ; 
but  to  no  purpose;  nobody  fell.  "How  is  this.?""  asked 
Tryggveson.      "  Our  swords  are  notched  and  blunted,  king ; 


JARLS    ERIC    AND    SVEIN  247 

they  do  not  cut."  Olaf  stept  down  to  his  ann-chest ;  deHvered 
out  new  swords  ;  and  it  was  ohserved  as  he  did  it,  blood  ran 
trickling  from  his  wrist  ;  but  none  knew  where  the  wound 
was.  Eric  boarded  a  third  time.  Olaf,  left  with  hardly  more 
than  one  man,  sprang  overboard  (one  sees  that  red  coat  of  his 
still  glancing  in  the  evening  sun),  and  sank  in  the  deep  waters 
to  his  long  rest. 

Rumour  ran  among  his  people  that  he  still  w^as  not  dead  ; 
grounding  on  some  movement  by  the  ships  of  that  traitorous 
Sigwald,  they  fancied  Olaf  had  dived  beneath  the  keels  of 
his  enemies,  and  got  away  with  Sigwald,  as  Sigwald  himself 
evidently  did.  '  Much  was  hoped,  supposed,  spoken,'  says  one 
old  mourning  Skald  ;  '  but  the  truth  was,  Olaf  Tryggveson 
was  never  seen  in  Norseland  more.'  Strangely  he  remains 
still  a  shining  figure  to  us ;  the  wildly  beautifulest  man,  in 
body  and  in  soul,  that  one  has  ever  heard  of  in  the  North. 


CHAPTER    VIII 

'—  JARI.S    ERIC    AND    SVEIN 

Jarl  Eric,  splendent  with  this  victory,  not  to  speak  of  that 
over  the  Jomsburgers  with  his  father  long  ago,  was  now  made 
Governor  of  Norway  :  Governor  or  quasi-sovereign,  with  his 
brother,  Jarl  Svein,  as  partner,  who,  however,  took  but  little 
hand  in  governing  ;  —  and,  under  the  patronage  of  Svein 
Double- Beard  and  the  then  Swedish  king  (Olaf  his  name, 
Sigrid  the  Proud,  his  mother's),  administered  it,  they  say, 
with  skill  and  prudence  for  above  fourteen  years.  Tryggve- 
son's  death  is  understood  and  laboriously  computed  to  have 
happened  in  the  year  1000  ;  but  there  is  no  exact  chronology 
in  these  things,  but  a  continual  uncertain  guessing  after  such  ; 
so  that  one  eye  in  History  as  regards  them  is  as  if  put  out ; 
— neither  indeed  have  I  yet  had  the  luck  to  find  any  decipher- 
able and  intelligible  map  of  Norway  :  so  that  the  other  eye 
of  History  is   much    blinded   withal,  and   her  path  through 


248         EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

those  wild  regions  and  epochs  is  an  extremely  dim  and  chaotic 
one.  An  evil  that  much  demands  remedying,  and  especially 
wants  some  first  attempt  at  remedying,  by  inquirers  into 
English  History  ;  the  whole  period  from  Egbert,  the  first 
Saxon  King  of  England,  on  to  Edward  the  Confessor,  the 
last,  being  everywhere  completely  interwoven  with  that  of 
their  mysterious,  continually -invasive  '  Danes,'  as  they  call 
them,  and  inextricably  unintelligible  till  these  also  get  to  be 
a  little  understood,  and  cease  to  be  utterly  dark,  hideous,  and 
mythical  to  us  as  they  now  are. 

King  Olaf  Tryggveson  is  the  first  Norseman  who  is  expressly 
mentioned  to  have  been  in  England  by  our  English  History 
books,  new  or  old  ,  and  of  him  it  is  merely  said  that  he  had 
an  interview  with  King  Ethelred  ii.  at  Andover,  of  a  pacific 
and  friendly  nature, — though  it  is  absurdly  added  that  the 
noble  Olaf  was  converted  to  Christianity  by  that  extremely 
stupid  Royal  Person.  Greater  contrast  in  an  interview  than 
in  this  at  Andover,  between  heroic  Olaf  Tryggveson  and 
Ethelred  the  forever  Unready,  was  not  perhaps  seen  in  the 
terrestrial  Planet  that  day.  Olaf,  or  '  Olaus,'  or  '  Anlaf,'  as 
they  name  him,  did  «  engage  on  oath  to  Ethelred  not  to  invade. 
England  any  more,'  and  kept  his  promise,  they  farther  say. 
Essentially  a  truth,  as  we  already  know,  though  the  circum- 
stances were  all  different ;  and  the  promise  was  to  a  devout 
High  Priest,  not  to  a  crowned  Blockhead  and  cowardly  Do- 
nothing.  One  other  '  Olaus '  I  find  mentioned  in  our  Books, 
two  or  three  centuries  before,  at  a  time  when  there  existed  no 
such  individual ;  not  to  speak  of  several  Anlafs,  who  some- 
times seem  to  mean  Olaf,  and  still  oftener  to  mean  nobody 
possible.  Which  occasions  not  a  little  obscurity  in  our  early 
History,  says  the  learned  Selden.  A  thing  remediable,  too, 
in  which,  if  any  Englishman  of  due  genius  (or  even  capacity 
for  standing  labour),  who  understood  the  Icelandic  and  Anglo- 
Saxon  languages,  would  engage  in  it,  he  might  do  a  great 
deal  of  good,  and  bring  the  matter  into  a  comparatively  lucid 
state.      Vain  aspirations, — or  p9j-haps  not  altogether  vain. 


JARLS    ERIC    AND    SVEIN  249 

At  the  time  of  Olaf  Tryggveson's  death,  and  indeed  long 
before,  King  Svein  Double-Reard  had  always  for  chief  enter- 
prise the  Conquest  of  England,  and  followed  it  by  fits  with 
extreme  violence  and  impetus ;  often  advancing  largely  towards 
a  successful  conclusion  ;  but  never,  for  thirteen  years  yet, 
getting  it  concluded.  He  possessed  long  since  all  England 
north  of  Watling  Street.  That  is  to  say,  Northumberland, 
East  Anglia  (naturally  full  of  Danish  settlers  by  this  time), 
were  fixedly  his ;  Mercia,  his  oftener  than  not ;  Wessex  itself, 
with  all  the  coasts,  he  was  free  to  visit,  and  to  burn  and  rob 
in  at  discretion.  There  or  elsewhere,  Ethelred  the  Unready 
had  no  battle  in  him  whatever ;  and,  for  a  forty  years  after 
the  beginning  of  his  reign,  England  excelled  in  anarchic 
stupidity,  murderous  devastation,  utter  misery,  platitude,  and 
sluggish  contemptibility,  all  the  countries  one  has  read  of. 
Apparently  a  very  opulent  country,  too  ;  a  ready  skill  in  such 
arts  and  fine  arts  as  there  were  ;  Svein's  very  ships,  they  say, 
had  their  gold  dragons,  top-mast  pennons,  and  other  metallic 
splendours  generally  wrought  for  them  in  England.  '  Un- 
exampled prosperity'  in  the  manufacture  way  not  unknown 
there,  it  would  seem  !  But  co-existing  with  such  spiritual 
bankruptcy  as  was  also  unexampled,  one  would  hope.  Read 
Lupus  (Wulfstan),  Archbishop  of  York's  amazing  Sermon  on 
the  subject,^  addressed  to  contemporary  audiences  ;  setting 
forth  such  a  state  of  things, — sons  selling  their  fathers, 
mothers,  and  sisters  as  Slaves  to  the  Danish  robber ;  them- 
selves living  in  debauchery,  blusterous  gluttony,  and  depravity; 
the  details  of  which  are  well-nigh  incredible,  though  clearly 
stated  as  things  generally  known, — the  humour  of  these  poor 
wretches  sunk  to  a  state  of  what  we  rnay  call  greasy  despera- 
tion, "Let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  tomorrow  we  die."  The 
manner  in  which  they  treated  their  own  English  nuns,  if 
young,  good-looking,  and  captive  to  the  Danes ;   buying  them 

^  This  sermon  was  printed  by  Hearne  ;  and  is  given  also  by  Langebek  in  his 
excellent  Collection,  Rerum  Danicarum  Scriptores  Medii  ^vi.  Hafnise,  1772- 
1834. 


250         EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

on  a  kind  of  brutish  or  subterbrutish  '  Greatest  Happiness 
Principle '  (for  the  moment),  and  by  a  Joint-Stock  arrange- 
ment, far  transcends  all  human  speech  or  imagination,  and 
awakens  in  one  the  momentary  red-hot  thought,  The  Danes 
have  served  you  right,  ye  accursed  !  The  so-called  soldiers, 
one  finds,  made  not  the  least  fight  anywhere ;  could  make 
none,  led  and  guided  as  they  M'ere  :  and  the  '  Generals,'  often 
enough  traitors,  always  ignorant,  and  blockheads,  were  in  the 
habit,  when  expressly  commanded  to  fight,  of  taking  physic, 
and  declaring  that  nature  was  incapable  of  castor- oil  and 
battle  both  at  once.  This  ought  to  be  explained  a  little  to 
the  modern  English  and  their  War-Secretaries,  who  undertake 
the  conduct  of  armies.  The  undeniable  fact  is,  defeat  on 
defeat  was  the  constant  fate  of  the  English ;  during  these 
forty  years  not  one  battle  in  which  they  were  not  beaten. 
No  gleam  of  victory  or  real  resistance  till  the  noble  Edmund 
Ironside  (whom  it  is  always  strange  to  me  how  such  an  Ethel- 
red  could  produce  for  son)  made  his  appearance  and  ran  his 
brief  course,  like  a  great  and  far-seen  meteor,  soon  extin- 
guished without  result.  No  remedy  for  England  in  that  base 
time,  but  yearly  asking  the  victorious,  plundering,  burning 
and  murdering  Danes,  '  How  much  money  will  you  take  to 
go  away  ? '  Thirty  thousand  pounds  in  silver,  which  the 
annual  Danegelt  soon  rose  to,  continued  to  be  about  the 
average  yearly  sum,  though  generally  on  the  increasing  hand  ; 
in  the  last  year  I  think  it  had  risen  to  seventy-two  thousand 
pounds  in  silver,  raised  yearly  by  a  tax  (Income-Tax  of  its 
kind,  rudely  levied),  the  worst  of  all  remedies,  good  for  the 
day  only.  Nay,  there  was  one  remedy  still  worse,  which  the 
miserable  Ethelred  once  tried  :  that  of  massacring  '  all  the 
Danes  settled  in  England '  (practically,  of  a  few  thousands  or 
hundreds  of  them),  by  treachery  and  a  kind  of  Sicilian  Vespers. 
Which  issued,  as  such  things  usually  do,  in  terrible  monition 
to  you  not  to  try  the  like  again !  Issued,  namely,  in  redoubled 
fury  on  the  Danish  part ;  new  fiercer  invasion  by  Svein's  Jarl 
Thorkel  ;    then    by  Svein    himself ;    which   latter   drove   the 


JARLES    ERIC    AND    SVEIN  251 

miserable  Ethelred,  with  wife  and  family,  into  Normandy,  to 
wife's  brother,  the  then  Duke  there  ;  and  ended  that  miserable 
struggle  by  Svein's  becoming  King  of  England  himself.  Of 
this  disgraceful  massacre,  which  it  would  appear  has  been 
inmiensely  exaggerated  in  the  English  books,  we  can  happily 
give  the  exact  date  (a.d.  1002)  ;  and  also  of  Svein's  victorious 
accession  (a.d.  1013),^ — pretty  much  the  only  benefit  one 
gets  out  of  contemplating  such  a  set  of  objects. 

King  Svein's  first  act  was  to  levy  a  terribly  increased 
Income-Tax  for  the  payment  of  his  army.  Svein  was  levying 
it  with  a  stronghanded  diligence,  but  had  not  yet  done  levy- 
ing it,  when,  at  Gainsborough  one  night,  he  suddenly  died  ; 
smitten  dead,  once  used  to  be  said,  by  St.  Edmund,  whilom 
murdered  King  of  the  East  Angles ;  who  could  not  bear  to 
see  his  shrine  and  monastery  of  St.  Edmundsbury  plundered 
by  the  Tyrant's  tax-collectors,  as  they  were  on  the  point  of 
being.  In  all  ways  impossible,  however, — Edmund's  own  death 
did  not  occur  till  two  years  after  Svein's.  Svein's  death,  by 
whatever  cause,  befell  1014  ;  his  fleet,  then  lying  in  the 
Humber ;  and  only  Knut,"  his  eldest  son  (hardly  yet  eighteen, 
count  some),  in  charge  of  it ;  who,  on  short  counsel,  and 
arrangement  about  this  questionable  kingdom  of  his,  lifted 
anchor ;  made  for  Sandwich,  a  safer  station  at  the  moment ; 
'  cut  off  the  feet  and  noses '  (one  shudders,  and  hopes  Not, 
there  being  some  discrepancy  about  it  !)  of  his  numerous 
hostages  that  had  been  delivered  to  King  Svein  ;  set  them 
ashore ; — and  made  for  Denmark,  his  natural  storehouse  and 
stronghold,  as  the  hopefulest  first-thing  he  could  do. 

Knut  soon  returned  from  Denmark,  with  increase  of  force 
sufficient  for  the  English  problem  ;  which  latter  he  now 
ended  in  a  victorious,  and  essentially,  for  himself  and  chaotic 
England,  beneficent  manner.  Became  widely  known  by  and 
by,  there  and  elsewhere,  as  Knut  the  Great ;  and  is  thought 
by  judges   of    our   day   to    have    really    merited    that   title. 

1  Kennet,  i.  67  ;  Rapin,  i.  119,  121  (from  the  Saxon  Chronicle  hoih). 
*  Knut  born  A.D.  988  according  to  Munch's  calculation  (ii.  126). 


252         EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

A  most  nimble,  sharp-striking,  clear-thinking,  prudent  and 
effective  man,  who  regulated  this  dismembered  and  distracted 
England  in  its  Church  matters,  in  its  State  matters,  like  a 
real  King.  Had  a  Standing  Army  {House  Carles),  who  were 
well  paid,  well  drilled  and  disciplined,  capable  of  instantly 
quenching  insurrection  or  breakage  of  the  peace  ;  and  piously 
endeavoured  (with  a  signal  earnestness,  and  even  devoutness, 
if  we  look  well)  to  do  justice  to  all  men,  and  to  make  all 
men  rest  satisfied  with  justice.  In  a  word,  he  successfully 
strapped-up,  by  every  true  method  and  regulation,  this  miser- 
able, dislocated,  and  dissevered  mass  of  bleeding  Anarchy  into 
something  worthy  to  be  called  an  England  again  ; — only 
that  he  died  too  soon,  and  a  second  '  Conqueror '  of  us,  still 
Meightier  of  structure,  and  under  improved  auspices,  became 
possible,  and  was  needed  here  !  To  appearance,  Knut  himself 
was  capable  of  being  a  Charlemagne  of  England  and  the  North 
(as  has  been  already  said  or  quoted),  had  he  only  lived  twice 
as  long  as  he  did.  But  his  whole  sum  of  years  seems  not  to 
have  exceeded  forty.  His  father  Svein  of  the  Forkbeard  is 
reckoned  to  have  been  fifty  to  sixty  when  St.  Edmund  finished 
him  at  Gainsborough.  We  now  return  to  Norway,  ashamed 
of  this  long  circuit  which  has  been  a  truancy  more  or  less. 


CHAPTER    IX 

KING    OLAF    THE    THICK-SET's    VIKING   DAYS 

King  Harald  Gr.enske,  who,  with  another  from  Russia 
accidentally  lodging  beside  him,  got  burned  to  death  in 
Sweden,  courting  that  unspeakable  Sigrid  the  Proud, — was 
third  cousin  or  so  to  Tryggve,  father  of  our  heroic  Olaf. 
Accurately  counted,  he  is  great-grandson  of  Bjorn  the  Chap- 
man, first  of  Haarfagrs  sons  whom  Eric  Rloodaxe  made  away 
with.  His  little  '  kingdom,'  as  he  called  it,  was  a  district 
named  the  Greenland  {Grceneland) ;  he  himself  was  one  of 
those  little  Haarfagr  kinglets  whom  Hakon  Jarl,  much  more 


OLAF  THE  THICK-SET'S  VIKING  DAYS     253 

Olaf  Ti'vggveson,  was  content  to  leave  reigning,  since  they 
would  keep  the  peace  with  him.  Harald  had  a  loving  wife 
of  his  own,  Aasta  the  name  of  her,  soon  expecting  the  birth 
of  her  and  his  pretty  babe,  named  Olaf, — at  the  time  he 
went  on  that  deplorable  Swedish  adventure,  the  foolish,  fated 
creature,  and  ended  self  and  kingdom  altogether.  Aasta  was 
greatly  shocked  ;  composed  herself  however ;  married  a  new 
husband,  Sigurd  Syr,  a  kinglet,  and  a  great-grandson  of 
Harald  Fairhair,  a  man  of  great  wealth,  prudence,  and  influ- 
ence in  those  countries  ;  in  whose  house,  as  favourite  and 
well-beloved  stepson,  little  Olaf  was  wholesomely  and  skilfully 
brought  up.  In  Sigurd's  house  he  had,  withal,  a  special 
tutor  entertained  for  him,  one  Rane,  known  as  Rane  the  Far- 
travelled,  by  whom  he  could  be  trained,  from  the  earliest 
basis,  in  Norse  accomplishments  and  arts.  New  children  came, 
one  or  two ;  but  Olaf,  from  his  mother,  seems  always  to  have 
known  that  he  was  the  distinguished  and  royal  article  there. 
One  day  his  Foster-father,  hurrying  to  leave  home  on  business, 
hastily  bade  Olaf,  no  other  being  by,  saddle  his  horse  for  him. 
Olaf  went  out  with  the  saddle,  chose  the  biggest  he -goat 
about,  saddled  that,  and  brought  it  to  the  door  by  way  of 
horse.  Old  Sigurd,  a  most  grave  man,  grinned  sardonically 
at  the  sight.  "  Hah,  I  see  thou  hast  no  mind  to  take 
commands  from  me  ;  thou  art  of  too  high  a  humour  to  take 
commands."  To  which,  says  Snorro,  Boy  Olaf  answered  little 
except  by  laughing,  till  Sigurd  saddled  for  himself,  and  rode 
away.  His  mother  Aasta  appears  to  have  been  a  thoughtful, 
prudent  woman,  though  always  with  a  fierce  royalism  at  the 
bottom  of  her  memory,  and  a  secret  implacability  on  that 
head. 

At  the  age  of  twelve  Olaf  went  to  sea ;  furnished  with  a 
little  fleet,  and  skilful  sea-counsellor,  expert  old  Rane,  by  his 
Foster-father,  and  set  out  to  push  his  fortune  in  the  world. 
Rane  was  a  steersman  and  counsellor  in  these  incipient  times  ; 
but  the  crew  always  called  Olaf  '  King,'  though  at  first,  as 
Snorro  thinks,  except  it  were  in  the  hour  of  battle,  he  merely 


254         EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

pulled  an  oar.  He  cruised  and  fought  in  this  capacity  on 
many  seas  and  shores  ;  passed  several  years,  perhaps  till  the 
age  of  nineteen  or  twenty,  in  this  wild  element  and  way  of 
life ;  fighting  always  in  a  glorious  and  distinguished  manner. 
In  the  hour  of  battle,  diligent  enough  '  to  amass  property,"' 
as  the  Vikings  termed  it ;  and  in  the  long  days  and  nights 
of  sailing,  given  over,  it  is  likely,  to  his  own  thoughts  and 
the  unfathomable  dialogue  with  the  ever-moaning  Sea ;  not 
the  worst  High  School  a  man  could  have,  and  indeed  in- 
finitely preferable  to  the  most  that  are  going  even  now,  for 
a  high  and  deep  young  soul. 

His  fii'st  distinguished  expedition  was  to  Sweden  :  natural 
to  go  thither  first,  to  avenge  his  poor  father's  death,  were  it 
nothing  more.  Which  he  did,  the  Skalds  say,  in  a  distin- 
guished manner ;  making  victorious  and  handsome  battle  for 
himself,  in  entering  Maelare  Lake ;  and  in  getting  out  of  it 
again,  after  being  frozen  there  all  winter,  showing  still  more 
surprising,  almost  miraculous  contrivance  and  dexterity.  This 
was  the  first  of  his  glorious  victories ;  of  which  the  Skalds 
reckon  up  some  fourteen  or  thirteen  very  glorious  indeed, 
mostly  in  the  AVestern  and  Southern  countries,  most  of  all 
in  England ;  till  the  name  of  Olaf  Haraldson  became  quite 
famous  in  the  Viking  and  strategic  world.  He  seems  really 
to  have  learned  the  secrets  of  his  trade,  and  to  have  been, 
then  and  afterwards,  for  vigilance,  contrivance,  valour,  and 
promptitude  of  execution,  a  superior  fighter.  Several  exploits 
recorded  of  him  betoken,  in  simple  forms,  what  may  be  called 
a  military  genius. 

The  principal,  and  to  us  the  alone  interesting,  of  his  ex- 
ploits seem  to  have  lain  in  England,  and,  what  is  further 
notable,  always  on  the  anti-Svein  side.  English  books  do 
not  mention  him  at  all  that  I  can  find ;  but  it  is  fairly 
credible  that,  as  the  Norse  records  report,  in  the  end  of 
Ethelred's  reign,  he  was  the  ally  or  hired  general  of  Ethel- 
red,  and  did  a  great  deal  of  sea-fighting,  watching,  sailing, 
and  sieging  for  this  miserable  king  and  Edmund  Ironside,  his 


OLAF  THE  THICK-SET'S   VIKING  DAYS     255 

son.  Snorro  says  expressly,  London,  the  impregnable  city, 
had  to  be  besieged  again  for  Ethelred's  behoof  (in  the  in- 
terval between  Svein's  death  and  young  Knut's  getting  back 
from  Denmark),  and  that  our  Olaf  Haraldson  was  the  great 
engineer  and  victorious  captor  of  London  on  that  singular 
occasion, — London  captured  for  the  first  time.  The  Bridge, 
as  usual,  Snorro  says,  offered  almost  insuperable  obstacles. 
But  the  engineering  genius  of  Olaf  contrived  huge  '  platforms 
of  wainscoting'  (old  walls  of  wooden  houses,  in  fact),  'bound 
together  by  withes ' ;  these,  carried  steadily  aloft  above  the 
ships,  will  (thinks  Olaf)  considerably  secure  them  and  us 
from  the  destructive  missiles,  big  boulder  stones,  and  other 
mischief  })rofusely  showered  down  on  us,  till  we  get  under 
the  Bridge  with  axes  and  cables,  and  do  some  good  upon  it. 
Olaf  s  plans  were  tried  ;  most  of  the  other  ships,  in  spite  of 
their  wainscoting  and  withes,  recoiled  on  reaching  the  Bridge, 
so  destructive  were  the  boulder  and  other  missile  showers. 
But  Olaf  s  ships  and  self  got  actually  under  the  Bridge  ;  fixed 
all  maimer  of  cables  there ;  and  then,  with  the  river  current 
in  their  favour,  and  the  frightened  ships  rallying  to  help  in 
this  safer  part  of  the  enterprise,  tore  out  the  important  piles 
and  props,  and  fairly  broke  the  poor  Bridge,  wholly  or  partly, 
down  into  the  river,  and  its  Danish  defenders  into  immediate 
surrender.      That  is  Snorro's  account. 

On  a  previous  occasion,  Olaf  had  been  dee})  in  a  hopeful 
combination  with  Ethelred's  two  younger  sons,  Alfred  and 
Edward,  afterwards  King  Edward  the  Confessor  :  That  they 
two  should  sally  out  from  Normandy  in  strong  force,  unite 
with  Olaf  in  ditto,  and,  landing  on  the  Thames,  do  something 
effectual  for  themselves.  But  impediments,  bad  weather  or 
the  like,  disheartened  the  poor  Princes,  and  it  came  to 
nothing.  Olaf  was  much  in  Normandy,  what  they  then 
called  Walland ;  a  man  held  in  honour  by  those  Norman 
Dukes. 

What  amount  of  '  property  "■  he  had  amassed  I  do  not 
know,    but    could    prove,    were    it    necessary,    that    he    had 


256        EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

acquired  some  tactical  or  even  strategic  faculty  and  real 
talent  for  war.  At  Lymfjord,  in  Jutland,  but  some  years 
after  this  (a.d.  1027),  he  had  a  sea-battle  with  the  great 
Knut  himself, — ships  combined  with  flood-gates,  with  roaring, 
artificial  deluges;  right  well  managed  by  King  Olaf;  which 
were  within  a  hair's-breadth  of  destroying  Knut,  now  become 
a  King  and  Great;  and  did  in  effect  send  him  instantly 
running.      But  of  this  more  particularly  by  and  by. 

What  still  more  surprises  me  is  the  mystery,  where  Olaf, 
in  this  wandering,  fighting,  sea-roving  life,  acquired  his  deeply 
religious  feeling,  his  intense  adherence  to  the  Christian  Faith. 
I  suppose  it  had  been  in  England,  where  many  pious  persons, 
priestly  and  other,  were  still  to  be  met  with,  that  Olaf  had 
gathered  these  doctrines ;  and  that  in  those  his  unfathomable 
dialogues  with  the  ever-moaning  Ocean,  they  had  struck  root 
downwards  in  the  soul  of  him,  and  borne  fruit  upwards  to  the 
degree  so  conspicuous  afterwards.  It  is  certain  he  became  a 
deeply  pious  man  during  these  long  Viking  cruises ;  and 
directed  all  his  strength,  when  strength  and  authority  were 
lent  him,  to  establishing  the  Christian  religion  in  his  country, 
and  suppressing  and  abolishing  Vikingism  there ;  both  of 
Avhich  objects,  and  their  respective  worth  and  unworth,  he 
must  himself  have  long  known  so  well. 

It  was  well  on  in  a.d.  1016  that  Knut  gained  his  last 
victory,  at  Ashdon,  in  Essex,  where  the  earth  pyramids  and 
antique  church  near  by  still  testify  the  thankful  piety  of 
Knut, — or,  at  lowest,  his  joy  at  having  zvon  instead  of  lost 
and  perished,  as  he  was  near  doing  there.  And  it  was  still 
this  same  year  when  the  noble  Edmund  Ironside,  after  forced 
partition-treaty  'in  the  Isle  of  Alney,'  got  scandalously 
murdered,  and  Knut  became  indisputable  sole  King  of 
England,  and  decisively  settled  himself  to  his  work  of 
governing  there.  In  the  year  before  either  of  which  events, 
while  all  still  hung  uncertain  for  Knut,  and  even  Eric  Jarl  of 
Norway  had  to  be  summoned  in  aid  of  him, — in  that  year 
1015,  as  one  might  naturally  guess,  and  as  all  Icelandic  hints 


OLAF  THE  THICK-SET'S  VIKING  DAYS     257 

and  indications  lead  us  to  date  the  thing,  Olaf  had  decided 
to  give  up  Vikingism  in  all  its  forms ;  to  return  to  Norway, 
and  try  whether  he  could  not  assert  the  place  and  career  that 
belonged  to  him  there.  Jarl  Eric  had  vanished  with  all  his 
war  forces  towards  England,  leaving  only  a  boy,  Hakon,  as 
successor,  and  Svein,  his  own  brother, — a  quiet  man,  who  had 
always  avoided  war.  Olaf  landed  in  Norway  without  obstacle; 
but  decided  to  be  quiet  till  he  had  himself  examined  and 
consulted  friends. 

His  reception  by  his  mother  Aasta  was  of  the  kindest  and 
proudest,  and  is  lovingly  described  by  Snorro.  A  pretty 
idyllic  or  epic  piece,  of  Norse  Homeric  type  :  How  Aasta, 
hearing  of  her  son's  advent,  set  all  her  maids  and  menials  to 
work  at  the  top  of  their  speed  ;  despatched  a  runner  to  the 
harvest-field,  where  her  husband  Sigurd  was,  to  warn  him  to 
come  home  and  dress.  How  Sigurd  was  standing  among  his 
harvest  folk,  reapers  and  binders  ;  and  what  he  had  on, — 
broad  slouch  hat,  with  veil  (against  the  midges),  blue  kirtle, 
hose  of  I  forget  what  colour,  with  laced  boots  ;  and  in  his 
hand  a  stick ,  with  silver  head  and  ditto  ring  upon  it ; — a 
personable  old  gentleman,  of  the  eleventh  century,  in  those 
parts.  Sigurd  was  cautious,  prudentially  cunctatory,  though 
heartily  friendly  in  his  counsel  to  Olaf,  as  to  the  King  ques- 
tion. Aasta  had  a  Spartan  tone  in  her  wild  maternal  heart ; 
and  assures  Olaf  that  she,  with  a  half-reproachful  glance  at 
Sigurd,  will  stand  by  him  to  the  death  in  this  his  just  and 
noble  enterprise.  Sigurd  promises  to  consult  farther  in  his 
neighbourhood,  and  to  correspond  by  messages  ;  the  result  is, 
Olaf,  resolutely  pushing  forward  himself,  resolves  to  call  a 
Thing,  and  openly  claim  his  kingship  there.  The  Thing 
itself  was  willing  enough  :  opposition  parties  do  here  and 
there  bestir  themselves  ;  but  Olaf  is  always  swifter  than 
they.  Five  kinglets  somewhere  in  the  Uplands,^ — all  descen- 
dants of  Haarfagr;  but  averse  to  break  the  peace,  which 
Jarl  Eric  and  Hakon  Jarl  both  have  always  willingly  allowed 

'  Snorro,  Laing's  Translation,  ii.  p.  31  et  seq.,  will  minutely  specify. 
VOL.   V.  R 


^58         EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

to  peaceable  people, — seem  to  be  the  main  opposition  party. 
These  five  take  the  field  against  Olaf  with  what  force  they 
have  ;  Olaf,  one  night,  by  beautiful  celerity  and  strategic 
practice  which  a  Friedrich  or  a  Turenne  might  have  approved, 
surrounds  these  Five  ;  and  when  morning  breaks,  there  is 
nothing  for  them  but  either  death  or  else  instant  surrender, 
and  swearing  of  fealty  to  King  Olaf.  Which  latter  branch  of 
the  alternative  they  gladlv  accept,  the  whole  five  of  them,  and 
go  home  again. 

This  was  a  beautiful  bit  of  war-practice  by  King  Olaf  on 
land.  By  another  stroke  still  more  compendious  at  sea,  he 
had  already  settled  poor  young  Hakon,  and  made  him  peace- 
able for  a  long  while.  Olaf,  by  diligent  quest  and  spy- 
messaging,  had  ascertained  that  Hakon,  just  returning  from 
Denmark  and  farewell  to  Papa  and  Knut,  both  now  under 
way  for  England,  was  coasting  north  towards  Trondhjem  ;  and 
intended  on  or  about  such  a  day  to  land  in  such  and  such  a 
fjord  towards  the  end  of  this  Trondhjem  voyage.  Olaf  at 
once  mans  two  big  ships,  steers  through  the  narrow  mouth  of 
the  said  fjord,  moors  one  ship  on  the  north  shore,  another  on 
the  south ;  fixes  a  strong  cable,  well  sunk  under  water, 
to  the  capstans  of  these  two  ;  and  in  all  quietness  waits  for 
Hakon.  Before  many  hours,  Hakon's  royal  or  quasi-royal 
barge  steers  gaily  into  this  fjord  ;  is  a  little  surprised,  perhaps, 
to  see  within  the  jaws  of  it  two  big  ships  at  anchor;  but 
steers  gallantly  along,  nothing  doubting.  Olaf,  with  a  signal 
of  '  All  hands,'  works  his  two  capstans  ;  has  the  cable  up  high 
enough  at  the  right  moment,  catches  with  it  the  keel  of  poor 
Hakon's  barge,  upsets  it,  empties  it  wholly  into  the  sea. 
Wholly  into  the  sea  ;  saves  Hakon,  however,  and  his  people 
from  drowning,  and  brings  them  on  board.  His  dialogue 
with  poor  young  Hakon,  especially  poor  young  Hakon's 
responses,  is  very  pretty.  Shall  I  give  it,  out  of  Snorro,  and 
let  the  reader  take  it  for  as  authentic  as  he  can  ?  It  is  at 
least  the  true  image  of  it  in  authentic  Snorro's  head  little 
more  than  two  centuries  later. 


OLAF  THE  THICK-SET^S  VIKING  DAYS     259 

'  Jarl  Hakon  was  led  up  to  the  king's  ship.  He  was  the 
handsomest  man  that  could  be  seen.  He  had  long  hair  as 
fine  as  silk,  bound  about  his  head  with  a  gold  ornament. 
When  he  sat  down  in  the  forehold  the  king  said  to  him  : ' 

King.  "  It  is  not  false,  what  is  said  of  your  family,  that 
ye  are  handsome  people  to  look  at ;  but  now  your  luck  has 
deserted  you." 

HaJiO?i.  "  It  has  always  been  the  case  that  success  is 
changeable ;  and  there  is  no  luck  in  the  matter.  It  has  gone 
with  your  family  as  with  mine  to  have  by  turns  the  better 
lot.  I  am  little  beyond  childhood  in  years  ;  and  at  any  rate 
we  could  not  have  defended  ourselves,  as  we  did  not  expect 
any  attack  on  the  way.  It  may  turn  out  better  with  us 
another  time." 

K}7ig\  "  Dost  thou  not  apprehend  that  thou  art  in  such  a 
condition  that,  hereafter,  there  can  be  neither  victory  nor 
defeat  for  thee  ?  " 

Hakon.  "That  is  what  only  thou  canst  determine.  King, 
according  to  thy  pleasure." 

King.  "  What  wilt  thou  give  me,  Jarl,  if,  for  this  time,  I 
let  thee  go,  whole  and  unhurt  ?  " 

Hakon.  "  What  wilt  thou  take,  King  ? " 

King.  "  Nothing,  except  that  thou  shalt  leave  the  country  , 
give  up  thy  kingdom  ;  and  take  an  oath  that  thou  wilt  never 
go  into  battle  against  me." '  ^ 

Jarl  Hakon  accepted  the  generous  terms  ;  went  to  England 
and  King  Knut,  and  kept  his  bargain  for  a  good  few  years  ; 
though  he  was  at  last  driven,  by  pressure  of  King  Knut,  to 
violate  it, — little  to  his  profit,  as  we  shall  see.  One  victorious 
naval  battle  with  Jarl  Svein,  Hakon's  uncle,  and  his  adherents, 
who  fled  to  Sweden,  after  his  beating, — battle  not  difficult  to 
a  skilful,  hard-hitting  king, — was  pretty  much  all  the  actual 
fighting  Olaf  had  to  do  in  this  enterprise.  He  various  times 
met  angry  Bonders  and  refractory  Things  with  arms  in  their 
hand;  but  by  skilful,  firm  management, — perfectly  patient, 
^  Snorro,  ii.  p.  24-5. 


260        EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

Dut  also  perfectly  ready  to  be  active, — he  mostly  managed 
without  coming  to  strokes  ;  and  was  universally  recognised  by 
Norway  as  its  real  king,  A  promising  young  man,  and  fit  to 
be  a  king,  thinks  Snorro.  Only  of  middle  stature,  almost 
rather  shortish  ;  but  firm-standing,  and  stout-built ;  so  that 
they  got  to  call  him  Olaf  the  thick  (meaning  Olaf  the  Thick- 
set,  or  Stout-built),  though  his  final  epithet  among  them  was 
infinitely  higher.  For  the  rest,  '  a  comely,  earnest,  prepossess- 
ing look ;  beautiful  yellow  hair  in  quantity  ;  broad,  honest 
face,  of  a  complexion  pure  as  snow  and  rose ' ;  and  finally 
(or  firstly)  '  the  brightest  eyes  in  the  world  ;  such  that,  in  his 
anger,  no  man  could  stand  them.'  He  had  a  heavy  task 
ahead,  and  needed  all  his  qualities  and  fine  gifts  to  get  it 
done. 

CHAPTER    X 

REIGN    OF    KING    OLAF    THE    SAINT 

The  late  two  Jarls,  now  gone  about  their  business,  had 
both  been  baptised,  and  called  themselves  Christians.  But 
during  their  government  they  did  nothing  in  the  conversion 
way  ;  left  every  man  to  choose  his  own  God  or  Gods  ;  so  that 
some  had  actually  two,  the  Christian  God  by  land,  and  at  sea 
Thor,  whom  they  considered  safer  in  that  element.  And  in 
effect  the  mass  of  the  people  had  fallen  back  into  a  sluggish 
heathenism  or  half-heathenism,  the  life-labour  of  Olaf  Trygg- 
veson  lying  ruinous  or  almost  quite  overset.  The  new  Olaf, 
son  of  Harald,  set  himself  with  all  his  strength  to  mend 
such  a  state  of  matters  ;  and  stood  by  his  enterprise  to  the 
end,  as  the  one  highest  interest,  including  all  others,  for  his 
People  and  him.  His  method  was  by  no  means  soft ;  on  the 
contrary,  it  was  hard,  rapid,  severe, — somewhat  on  the  model 
of  Tryggveson's,  though  with  more  of  hishoping  and  preaching 
superadded.  Yet  still  there  was  a  great  deal  of  mauling, 
vigorous  punishing,  and  an  entire  intolerance  of  these  two 
things  :  Heathenism  and  Sea-robbery,  at  least  of  Sea-robbery 


REIGN   OF  KING   OLAF   THE   SAINT       261 

in  the  old  style  ;  whether  in  the  style  we  moderns  still  prac- 
tise, and  call  privateering,  I  do  not  quite  know.  But 
Vikingism  proper  had  to  cease  in  Norway ;  still  more, 
Heathenism,  under  penalties  too  severe  to  be  borne  ;  death, 
mutilation  of  limb,  not  to  mention  forfeiture  and  less  rigorous 
coercion.  Olaf  was  inexorable  against  violation  of  the  law. 
"  Too  severe,"  cried  many ;  to  whom  one  answers,  "  Perhaps 
in  part  yes^  perhaps  also  in  great  part  no  ;  depends  altogether 
on  the  previous  question,  How  far  the  law  was  the  eternal  one 
of  God  Almighty  in  the  universe.  How  far  the  law  merely  of 
Olaf  (destitute  of  right  inspiration)  left  to  his  own  passions 
and  whims  ? " 

Many  were  the  jangles  Olaf  had  with  the  refractory 
Heathen  Things  and  Ironbeards  dk  a  new  generation  :  very 
curious  to  see.  Scarcely  ever  did  it  come  to  fighting  between 
King  and  Thing,  though  often  enough  near  it ;  but  the  Thing 
discerning,  as  it  usually  did  in  time,  that  the  King  was 
stronger  in  men,  seemed  to  say  unanimously  to  itself,  "  We 
have  lost,  then  ;  baptise  us,  we  must  burn  our  old  gods  and 
conform."  One  new  feature  we  do  slightly  discern  :  here  and 
there  a  touch  of  theological  argument  on  the  heathen  side. 
At  one  wild  Thing,  far  up  in  the  Dovrefjeld,  of  a  very  heathen 
temper,  there  was  much  of  that ;  not  to  be  quenched  by  King 
Olaf  at  the  moment ;  so  that  it  had  to  be  adjourned  till  the 
morrow,  and  again  till  the  next  day.  Here  are  some  traits  of 
it,  much  abridged  from  Snorro  (who  gives  a  highly  punctual 
account),  which  vividly  represent  Olafs  posture  and  manner 
of  proceeding  in  such  intricacies. 

The  chief  Ironbeard  on  this  occasion  was  one  Gudbrand, 
a  very  rugged  peasant ;  who,  says  Snorro,  was  like  a  king  in 
that  district.  Some  days  before,  King  Olaf,  intending  a 
religious  Thing  in  those  deeply  heathen  parts,  with  alterna- 
tive of  Christianity  or  conflagration,  is  reported,  on  looking 
down  into  the  valley  and  the  beautiful  village  of  Loar  stand- 
ing there,  to  have  said  wistfully,  "  What  a  pity  it  is  that  so 
beautiful   a   village   should    be   burnt ! "      Olaf  sent   out    his 


S62         EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

message-token  all  the  same,  however,  and  met  Gudbrand 
and  an  immense  assemblage,  whose  humour  towards  him  was 
uncompliant  to  a  high  degree  indeed.  Judge  by  this  pre- 
liminary speech  of  Gudbrand  to  his  Thing-people,  while  Olaf 
was  not  yet  arrived,  but  only  advancing,  hardly  got  to  Breeden 
on  the  other  side  of  the  hill :  "  A  man  has  come  to  Loar  who 
is  called  Olaf,"  said  Gudbrand,  "  and  will  force  upon  us 
another  faith  than  we  had  before,  and  will  break  in  pieces  all 
our  Gods.  He  says  he  has  a  much  greater  and  more  power- 
ful God ;  and  it  is  wonderful  that  the  earth  does  not  burst 
asunder  under  him,  or  that  our  God  lets  him  go  about 
unpunished  when  he  dares  to  talk  such  things.  I  know 
this  for  certain,  that  if  we  carry  Thor,  who  has  always 
stood  by  us,  out  of  our 'Temple  that  is  standing  upon  this 
farm,  Olafs  God  will  melt  away,  and  he  and  his  men  be  made 
nothing  as  soon  as  Thor  looks  upon  them."  Whereupon  the 
Bonders  all  shouted  as  one  man,  "  Yea  ! " 

Which  tremendous  message  they  even  forwarded  to  Olaf, 
by  Gudbrand's  younger  son  at  the  head  of  700  armed  men ; 
but  did  not  terrify  Olaf  with  it,  who,  on  the  contrary,  drew  up 
his  troops,  rode  himself  at  the  head  of  them,  and  began  a 
speech  to  the  Bonders,  in  which  he  invited  them  to  adopt 
Christianity,  as  the  one  true  faith  for  mortals. 

Far  from  consenting  to  this,  the  Bonders  raised  a  general 
shout,  smiting  at  the  same  time  their  shields  with  their 
weapons ;  but  Olafs  men  advancing  on  them  swiftly,  and 
flinging  spears,  they  turned  and  ran,  leaving  Gudbrand's  son 
behind,  a  prisoner,  to  whom  Olaf  gave  his  life  :  "  Go  home 
now  to  thy  father,  and  tell  him  I  mean  to  be  with  him 
soon." 

The  son  goes  accordingly,  and  advises  his  father  not  to 
face  Olaf ;  but  Gudbrand  angrily  replies  :  "  Ha,  coward  !  I 
see  thou,  too,  art  taken  by  the  folly  that  man  is  going  about 
with  "  ;  and  is  resolved  to  fight.  That  night,  however,  Gud- 
brand has  a  most  remarkable  Dream,  or  Vision  :  A  Man  sur- 
rounded by  light,  bringing  great  terror  with  him,  who  warns 


REIGN    OF   KING   OLAF   THE   SAINT       263 

Gudbrand  against  doing  battle  with  Olaf.  "  If  thou  dost, 
thou  and  all  thy  people  will  fall ;  wolves  will  drag  away  thee 
and  thine,  ravens  will  tear  thee  in  stripes  !  "^  And  lo,  in  tell- 
ing this  to  Thord  Potbelly,  a  sturdy  neighbour  of  his  and 
henchman  in  the  Thing,  it  is  found  that  to  Thord  also  has 
come  the  self-same  terrible  Apparition  !  Better  propose  truce 
to  Olaf  (who  seems  to  have  these  dreadful  Ghostly  Powers  on 
his  side),  and  the  holding  of  a  Thing,  to  discuss  matters 
between  us.  Thing  assembles,  on  a  day  of  heavy  rain.  Being 
all  seated,  uprises  King  Olaf,  and  informs  them  :  "  The  people 
of  Lesso,  Loar,  and  Vaage,  have  accepted  Christianity,  and 
broken  down  their  idol-houses  :  they  believe  now  in  the  True 
God,  who  has  made  heaven  and  earth,  and  knows  all  things  "  ; 
and  sits  down  again  without  more  words. 

'  Gudbrand  replies,  "  We  know  nothing  about  him  of 
whom  thou  speakest.  Dost  thou  call  him  God,  whom  neither 
thou  nor  any  one  else  can  see  ?  But  we  have  a  God  who  can 
be  seen  every  day,  although  he  is  not  out  today  because  the 
weather  is  wet ;  and  he  will  appear  to  thee  terrible  and  very 
grand  ;  and  I  expect  that  fear  will  mix  with  thy  very  blood 
when  he  comes  into  the  Thing.  But  since  thou  sayest  thy 
God  is  so  great,  let  him  make  it  so  that  tomorrow  we 
have  a  cloudy  day,  but  without  rain,  and  then  let  us  meet 
again." 

*  The  king  accordingly  returned  home  to  his  lodging, 
taking  Gudbrand's  son  as  a  hostage ;  but  he  gave  them  a 
man  as  hostage  in  exchange.  In  the  evening  the  king  asked 
Gudbrand's  son  What  their  God  was  like  .'*  He  replied  that 
he  bore  the  likeness  of  Thor ;  had  a  hammer  in  his  hand  ; 
was  of  great  size,  but  hollow  within  ;  and  had  a  high  stand, 
upon  which  he  stood  when  he  was  out.  "  Neither  gold  nor 
silver  are  wanting  about  him,  and  every  day  he  receives  four 
cakes  of  bread,  besides  meat."  They  then  went  to  bed ;  but 
the  king  watched  all  night  in  prayer.  When  day  dawned  the 
king  went  to  mass  ;  then  to  table,  and  from  thence  to  the 
Thing.      The  w^eather  was  such  as  Gudbrand  desired.      Now 


264        EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

the  Bishop  stood  up  in  his  choir-robes,  with  bishop's  coif  on 
his  head,  and  bishop's  crosier  in  his  hand.  He  spoke  to  the 
Bonders  of  the  true  faith,  told  the  many  wonderful  acts  of 
God,  and  concluded  his  speech  well. 

'  Thord  Potbelly  replies,  "  Many  things  we  are  told  of  by 
this  learned  man  with  the  staff  in  his  hand,  crooked  at  the 
top  like  a  ram's  horn.  But  since  you  say,  comrades,  that 
your  God  is  so  powerful,  and  can  do  so  many  wonders,  tell 
him  to  make  it  clear  sunshine  tomorrow  forenoon,  and  then 
we  shall  meet  here  again,  and  do  one  of  two  things, — either 
agree  with  you  about  this  business,  or  fight  you.''  And  they 
separated  for  the  day.' 

Over  night  the  king  instructed  Kolbein  the  Strong,  an 
immense  fellow,  the  same  who  killed  Gunhild's  two  brothers, 
that  he,  Kolbein,  must  stand  next  him  tomorrow ;  people 
must  go  down  to  where  the  ships  of  the  Bonders  lay,  and 
punctually  bore  holes  in  every  one  of  them ;  item,  to  the 
farms  where  their  horses  were,  and  punctually  unhalter  the 
whole  of  them,  and  let  them  loose  :  all  which  was  done. 
Snorro  continues  : 

'  Now  the  king  was  in  prayer  all  night,  beseeching  God  of 
his  goodness  and  mercy  to  release  him  from  evil.  AVhen 
mass  was  ended,  and  morning  w^as  grey,  the  king  went  to  the 
Thing.  When  he  came  thither,  some  Bonders  had  already 
arrived,  and  they  saw  a  great  crowd  coming  along,  and  bear- 
ing among  them  a  huge  man's  image,  glancing  with  gold  and 
silver.  When  the  Bonders  who  were  at  the  Thing  saw  it, 
they  started  up,  and  bowed  themselves  down  before  the  ugly 
idol.  Thereupon  it  was  set  down  upon  the  Thing,  field  ;  and 
on  the  one  side  of  it  sat  the  Bonders,  and  on  the  other  the 
King  and  his  people. 

'  Then  Dale  Gudbrand  stood  up  and  said,  "  ^Vhere  now, 
king,  is  thy  God  ?  I  think  he  will  now  carry  his  head 
lower ;  and  neither  thou,  nor  the  man  with  the  horn,  sitting 
beside  thee  there,  whom  thou  callest  Bishop,  are  so  bold 
today  as  on  the  former  days.      For  now  our  God,  who  rules 


REIGN   OF   KING   OLAF  THE   SAINT       265 

over  all,  is  come,  and  looks  on  you  with  an  angry  eye  ;  and 
now  I  see  well  enough  that  you  are  terrified,  and  scarcely 
dare  raise  your  eyes.  Throw  away  now  all  your  opposition, 
and  believe  in  the  God  who  has  your  fate  whollv  in  his 
hands." 

'  The  king  now  whispers  to  Kolbein  the  Strong,  without 
the  Bonders  perceiving  it,  "  If  it  come  so  in  the  course  of  my 
speech  that  the  Bonders  look  another  way  than  towards  their 
idol,  strike  him  as  hard  as  thou  canst  with  thy  club." 

'  The  king  then  stood  up  and  spoke  ;  "  IMuch  hast  thou 
talked  to  us  this  morning,  and  greatly  hast  thou  wondered 
that  thou  canst  not  see  our  God ;  but  we  expect  that  he 
will  soon  come  to  us.  Thou  wouldst  frighten  us  with  thy 
God,  who  is  both  blind  and  deaf,  and  cannot  even  move 
about  without  being  carried ;  but  now  I  expect  it  will  be 
but  a  short  time  before  he  meets  his  fate  :  for  turn  your 
eyes  towards  the  east, — behold  our  God  advancing  in  great 
light." 

'  The  sun  was  rising,  and  all  turned  to  look.  At  that 
moment  Kolbein  gave  their  God  a  stroke,  so  that  he  quite 
burst  asunder ;  and  there  ran  out  of  him  mice  as  big;  almost 
as  cats,  and  reptiles  and  adders.  The  Bonders  were  so 
terrified  that  some  fled  to  their  ships  ;  but  when  they  sprang 
out  upon  them  the  ships  filled  with  water,  and  could  not  get 
away.  Others  ran  to  their  horses,  but  could  not  find  them. 
The  king  then  ordered  the  Bonders  to  be  called  together, 
saying  he  wanted  to  speak  with  them  ;  on  which  the  Bonders 
came  back,  and  the  Thing  was  again  seated. 

'  The  king  rose  up  and  said,  "  I  do  not  understand  Avhat 
your  noise  and  running  mean.  You  yourselves  see  what  your 
God  can  do, — the  idol  you  adorned  with  gold  and  silver, 
and  brought  meat  and  provisions  to.  You  see  now  that  the 
protecting  powers,  who  used  and  got  good  of  all  that,  were 
the  mice  and  adders,  the  reptiles  and  lizards ;  and  surely 
they  do  ill  who  trust  to  such,  and  will  not  abandon  this 
folly.      Take  now   your  gold  and  ornaments  that  are  lying 


266         EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

strewed  on  the  grass,  and  give  them  to  your  wives  and 
daughters,  but  never  hang  them  hereafter  upon  stocks  and 
stones.  Here  are  two  conditions  between  us  to  choose  upon  : 
either  accept  Christianity,  or  fight  this  very  day,  and  the 
victory  be  to  them  to  whom  the  God  we  worship  gives  it." 

'  Then  Dale  Gudbrand  stood  up  and  said,  "  We  have 
sustained  great  damage  upon  our  God ;  but  since  he  will  not 
help  us,  we  will  believe  in  the  God  whom  thou  believest  in." 

'  Then  all  received  Christianity.  The  Bishop  baptised 
Gudbrand  and  his  son.  King  Olaf  and  Bishop  Sigurd  left 
behind  them  teachers ;  and  they  who  met  as  enemies  parted 
as  friends.  And  afterwards  Gudbrand  built  a  church  in  the 
valley.^  ^ 

Olaf  was  by  no  means  an  unmerciful  man, — much  the 
reverse  where  he  saw  good  cause.  There  was  a  wicked  old 
King  Raerik,  for  example,  one  of  those  five  kinglets  whom, 
with  their  bits  of  armaments,  Olaf  by  stratagem  had  sur- 
rounded one  night,  and  at  once  bagged  and  subjected  when 
morning  rose,  all  of  them  consenting ;  all  of  them  except  this 
Raerik,  whom  Olaf,  as  the  readiest  sure  course,  took  home 
with  him  ;  blinded,  and  kept  in  his  own  house ;  finding  there 
was  no  alternative  but  that  or  death  to  the  obstinate  old 
dog,  who  was  a  kind  of  distant  cousin  withal,  and  could  not 
conscientiously  be  killed.  Stone-blind  old  Raerik  was  not 
always  in  murderous  humour.  Indeed,  for  most  part  he  wore 
a  placid,  conciliatory  aspect,  and  said  shrewd  amusing  things  ; 
but  had  thrice  over  tried,  with  amazing  cunning  of  contriv- 
ance, though  stone-blind,  to  thrust  a  dagger  into  Olaf,  and 
the  last  time  had  all  but  succeeded.  So  that,  as  Olaf  still 
refused  to  have  him  killed,  it  had  become  a  problem  what 
was  to  be  done  with  him.  Olafs  good  humour,  as  well  as 
his  quiet,  ready  sense  and  practicality,  are  manifested  in  his 
final  settlement  of  this  Raerik  problem.  Olafs  laugh,  I  can 
perceive,  was  not  so  loud  as  Tryggveson's,  but  equally  hearty, 
coming  from  the  bright  mind  of  him  ! 

^  Snorro,  ii.  pp.  156161, 


REIGN   OF   KING   OLAF  THE   SAINT       267 

Besides  blind  Raerik,  Olaf  had  in  his  household  one 
Thorarin,  an  Icelander ;  a  remarkably  ugly  man,  says  Snorro, 
but  a  far-travelled,  shrewdly  observant,  loyal-minded,  and  good- 
humoured  person,  whom  Olaf  liked  to  talk  with.  '  Remark- 
ably ugly,'  says  Snorro,  '  especially  in  his  hands  and  feet, 
which  were  large  and  ill-shaped  to  a  degree.'  One  morning 
Thorarin,  who,  with  other  trusted  ones,  slept  in  Olafs 
apartment,  was  lazily  dozing  and  yawning,  and  had  stretched 
one  of  his  feet,  out  of  the  bed  before  the  king  awoke.  The 
foot  was  still  there  when  Olaf  did  open  his  bright  eyes,  which 
instantly  lighted  on  this  foot. 

"  Well,  here  is  a  foot,"  says  Olaf,  gaily,  "  which  one 
seldom  sees  the  match  of;  I  durst  venture  there  is  not 
another  so  ugly  in  this  city  of  Nidaros." 

"  Hah,  king  ! ""  said  Thorarin,  "  there  are  few  things  one 
cannot  match  if  one  seek  long  and  take  pains.  I  would  bet, 
with  thy  permission,  King,  to  find  an  uglier." 

"  Done  ! "  cried  Olaf.  Upon  which  Thorarin  stretched 
out  the  other  foot. 

"  A  still  uglier,"  cried  he  ;  "  for  it  has  lost  the  little  toe." 

"  Ho,  ho  ! "  said  Olaf ;  "  but  it  is  I  who  have  gained  the 
bet.      The  less  of  an  ugly  thing  the  less  ugly,  not  the  more  ! " 

Loyal  Thorarin  respectfully  submitted. 

"  What  is  to  be  my  penalty,  then  ?  The  king  it  is  that 
must  decide." 

"To  take  me  that  wicked  old  Raerik  to  Leif  Ericson  in 
Greenland." 

Which  the  Icelander  did ;  leaving  two  vacant  seats  hence- 
forth at  Olaf's  table.  Leif  Ericson,  son  of  Eric  discoverer  of 
America,  quietly  managed  Raerik  henceforth ;  sent  him  to 
Iceland, — I  think  to  father  Eric  himself;  certainly  to  some 
safe  hand  there,  in  whose  house,  or  in  some  still  quieter 
neighbouring  lodging,  at  his  own  choice,  old  Raerik  spent  the 
last  three  years  of  his  life  in  a  perfectly  quiescent  manner. 

Olafs  struggles  in  the  matter  of  religion  had  actually 
settled  that  question  in  Norway.      By  these  rough  methods 


268        EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

of  his,  Avhatever  we  may  think  of  them,  Heathenism  had  got 
itself  smashed  dead  ;  and  was  no  more  heard  of  in  that 
country.  Olaf  himself  was  evidently  a  highly  devout  and 
pious  man ; — whosoever  is  born  with  Olaf  s  temper  now  will 
still  find,  as  Olaf  did,  new  and  infinite  field  for  it !  Christi- 
anity in  Norway  had  the  like  fertility  as  in  other  countries  ; 
or  even  rose  to  a  higher,  and  what  Dahlmann  thinks,  exuberant 
pitch,  in  the  course  of  the  two  centuries  which  followed  that 
of  Olaf.  Him  all  testimony  represents  to  us  as  a  most 
righteous  no  less  than  most  religious  king.  Continually 
vigilant,  just,  and  rigorous  was  Olafs  administration  of  the 
laws;  repression  of  robbery,  punishment  of  injustice,  stern 
repayment  of  evil-doers,  wherever  he  could  lay  hold  of  them. 

Among  the  Bonder  or  opulent  class,  and  indeed  every- 
where, for  the  poor  too  can  be  sinners  and  need  punishment, 
Olaf  had,  by  this  course  of  conduct,  naturally  made  enemies. 
His  severity  so  visible  to  all,  and  the  justice  and  infinite 
beneficence  of  it  so  invisible  except  to  a  very  few.  But,  at 
any  rate,  his  reign  for  the  first  ten  years  was  victorious  ;  and 
might  have  been  so  to  the  end,  had  it  not  been  intersected, 
and  interfered  with,  by  King  Knut  in  his  far  bigger  orbit 
and  current  of  affairs  and  interests.  Knut's  English  affairs 
and  Danish  being  all  settled  to  his  mind,  he  seems,  especially 
after  that  year  of  pilgrimage  to  Rome,  and  association  with 
the  Pontiffs  and  Kaisers  of  the  world  on  that  occasion,  to 
have  turned  his  more  particular  attention  upon  Norway,  and 
the  claims  he  himself  had  there.  Jarl  Hakon,  too,  sister's 
son  of  Knut,  and  always  Avell  seen  by  him,  had  long  been 
busy  in  this  direction,  much  forgetful  of  that  oath  to  Olaf 
when  his  barge  got  canted  over  by  the  cable  of  two  capstans, 
and  his  life  was  given  him,  not  without  conditions  altogether  ! 

About  the  year  1026  there  arrived  two  splendid  persons 
out  of  England,  bearing  King  Knut  the  Great's  letter  and 
seal,  with  a  message,  likely  enough  to  be  far  from  welcome  to 
Olaf.  For  some  days  Olaf  refused  to  see  them  or  their  letter, 
shrewdly  guessing  what  the  purport  would  be.     Which  indeed 


REIGN   OF  KING   OLAF  THE   SAINT       269 

was  couched  in  mild  language,  but  of  sharp  meaning  enough  : 
a  notice  to  King  Olaf,  namely.  That  Norway  was  properly, 
by  just  heritage,  Knut  the  Greafs ;  and  that  Olaf  must 
become  the  great  Knufs  liegeman,  and  pay  tribute  to  him, 
or  worse  would  follow.  King  Olaf,  listening  to  these  two 
splendid  persons  and  their  letter,  in  indignant  silence  till 
they  quite  ended,  made  answer  :  "  I  have  heard  say,  by  old 
accounts  there  are,  that  King  Gorm  of  Denmark "  (Blue- 
tooth's  father,  Knut's  great-grandfather)  "  was  considered 
but  a  small  king ;  having  Denmark  only  and  few  people  to 
rule  over.  But  the  kings  who  succeeded  him  thought  that 
insufficient  for  them  ;  and  it  has  since  come  so  far  that  King 
Knut  rules  over  both  Denmark  and  England,  and  has  con- 
quered for  himself  a  part  of  Scotland.  And  now  he  claims 
also  my  paternal  bit  of  heritage ;  cannot  be  contented  with- 
out that  too.  Does  he  wish  to  rule  over  all  the  countries  of 
the  North  ?  Can  he  eat  up  all  the  kale  in  England  itself, 
this  Knut  the  Great  ?  He  shall  do  that,  and  reduce  his 
England  to  a  desert,  before  I  lay  my  head  in  his  hands,  or 
show  him  any  other  kind  of  vassalage.  And  so  I  bid  you 
tell  him  these  my  words  :  I  will  defend  Norway  with  battle- 
axe  and  sword  as  long  as  life  is  given  me,  and  will  pay  tax 
to  no  man  for  my  kingdom."  Words  which  naturally  irri- 
tated Knut  to  a  high  degree. 

Next  year  accordingly  (year  1027),  tenth  or  eleventh  year 
of  Olafs  reign,  there  came  bad  rumours  out  of  England  : 
That  Knut  was  equipping  an  immense  army, — land-army, 
and  such  a  fleet  as  had  never  sailed  before ;  Knut's  own  ship 
in  it, — a  Gold  Dragon  with  no  fewer  than  sixty  benches  of 
oars.  Olaf  and  Onund  King  of  Sweden,  whose  sister  he  had 
married,  well  guessed  whither  this  armament  was  bound. 
They  were  friends  withal,  they  recognised  their  common  peril 
in  this  imminence ;  and  had,  in  repeated  consultations,  taken 
measures  the  best  that  their  united  skill  (which  I  find  was 
mainly  Olafs,  but  loyally  accepted  by  the  other)  could  sug- 
gest.     It  was  in  this  year  that  Olaf  (with  his  Swedish  king 


270        EARLY    KINGS    OF   NORWAY 

assisting)  did  his  grand  feat  upon  Knut  in  Lymfjord  of  Jut- 
land, which  was  ah-eady  spoken  of.  The  special  circumstances 
of  which  were  these  : 

Knut's  big  armament  arriving  on  the  Jutish  coasts  too  late 
in  the  season,  and  the  coast  country  lying  all  plundered  into 
temporary  wreck  by  the  two  Norse  kings,  who  shrank  away 
on  sight  of  Knut,  there  was  nothing  could  be  done  upon 
them  by  Knut  this  year, — or,  if  anything,  what  ?  Knut's 
ships  ran  into  Lymfjord,  the  safe-sheltered  frith,  or  intricate 
long  straoo'le  of  friths  and  straits,  which  almost  cuts  Jutland 
in  two  in  that  region ;  and  lay  safe,  idly  rocking  on  the 
waters  there,  uncertain  what  to  do  farther  At  last  he 
steered  in  his  big  ship  and  some  others,  deeper  into  the 
interior  of  Lymfjord,  deeper  and  deeper  onwards  to  the 
mouth  of  a  big  river  called  the  Helge  {Helge-aa,  the  Holy 
River,  not  discoverable  in  my  poor  maps,  but  certainly  enough 
still  existing  and  still  flowing  somewhere  among  those  intri- 
cate straits  and  friths),  towards  the  bottom  of  which  Helge 
river  lav,  in  some  safe  nook,  the  small  combined  Swedish  and 
Norse  fleet,  under  the  charge  of  Onund,  the  Swedish  king, 
while  at  the  top  or  source,  which  is  a  biggish  mountain  lake, 
King  Olaf  had  been  doing  considerable  engineering  works, 
well  suited  to  such  an  occasion,  and  was  now  ready  at  a 
moment's  notice.  Knut's  fleet  having  idly  taken  station 
here,  notice  from  the  Swedish  king  was  instantly  sent ; 
instantly  Olaf's  well- engineered  flood-gates  were  thrown 
open ;  from  the  swollen  lake  a  huge  deluge  of  water  was 
let  loose  ;  Olaf  himself  with  all  his  people  hastening  down 
to  join  his  Swedish  friend,  and  get  on  board  in  time  ;  Helge 
river  all  the  while  alongside  of  him,  with  ever-increasing 
roar,  and  wider-spreading  deluge,  hastening  down  the  steeps 
in  the  night-watches.  So  that,  along  with  Olaf,  or  some 
way  ahead  of  him,  came  immeasurable  roaring  waste  of 
waters  upon  Knufs  negligent  fleet ;  shattered,  broke,  and 
stranded  many  of  his  ships,  and  was  within  a  trifle  of  de- 
stroying the   Golden  Dragon  herself,    with   Knut    on   board. 


REIGN   OF   KING   OLAF   THE   SAINT       271 

Olaf  and  Onund,  we  need  not  say,  were  promptly  there  in 
person,  doing  their  very  best ;  the  raihngs  of  the  Golden 
Dragon,  however,  were  too  high  for  their  little  ships  ;  and 
Jarl  Ulf,  husband  of  Knut's  sister,  at  the  top  of  his  speed, 
courageously  intervening,  spoiled  their  stratagem,  and  saved 
Knut  from  this  very  dangerous  pass. 

Knut  did  nothing  more  this  winter.  The  two  Norse  kings, 
quite  unequal  to  attack  such  an  armament,  except  by  ambush, 
and  engineering,  sailed  away ;  again  plundering  at  dis- 
cretion on  the  Danish  coast ;  carrying  into  Sweden  great 
booties  and  many  prisoners ;  but  obliged  to  lie  fixed  all 
winter ;  and  indeed  to  leave  their  fleets  there  for  a  series  of 
winters, — Knufs  fleet,  posted  at  Elsinore  on  both  sides  of 
the  Sound,  rendering  all  egress  from  the  Baltic  impossible, 
except  at  his  pleasure.  Ulfs  opportune  deliverance  of  his 
royal  brother-in-law  did  not  much  bestead  poor  Ulf  himself. 
He  had  been  in  disfavour  before,  pardoned  with  difficulty,  by 
Queen  Emma's  intercession ;  an  ambitious,  officious,  pushing, 
stirring,  and,  both  in  England  and  Denmark,  almost  dangerous 
man  ;  and  this  conspicuous  accidental  merit  only  awoke  new 
jealousy  in  Knut.  Knut,  finding  nothing  pass  the  Sound 
worth  much  blockading,  went  ashore ;  '  and  the  day  before 
Michaelmas,'  says  Snorro,  '  rode  with  a  great  retinue  to 
Roeskilde.'  Snorro  continues  his  tragic  narrative  of  what 
befell  there  : 

'  There  Knut's  brother-in-law,  Jarl  Ulf,  had  prepared  a 
great  feast  for  him.  The  Jarl  was  the  most  agreeable  of 
hosts ;  but  the  King  was  silent  and  sullen.  The  Jarl  talked 
to  him  in  every  way  to  make  him  cheerful,  and  brought  for- 
ward everything  he  could  think  of  to  amuse  him  ;  but  the 
King  remained  stern,  and  speaking  little.  At  last  the  Jarl 
proposed  a  game  of  chess,  which  he  agreed  to.  A  chess- 
board was  produced,  and  they  played  together.  Jarl  Ulf  was 
hasty  in  temper,  stiff",  and  in  nothing  yielding;  but  every- 
thin":  he  managed  went  on  well  in  his  hands  :  and  he  Avas  a 
great  warrior,  about  whom  there  are  many  stories.      He  was 


272         EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

the  most  powerful  man  in  Denmark  next  to  the  King. 
Jarl  Ulf  s  sister,  Gyda,  was  married  to  Jarl  Gudin  (Godwin) 
Ulfnadson;  and  their  sons  were,  Harald  King  of  England, 
and  Jarl  Tosti,  Jarl  Walthiof,  Jarl  Mauro-Kaare,  and  Jarl 
Svein.  Gjda  was  the  name  of  their  daughter,  who  was 
married  to  the  English  King  Edward,  the  Good  (whom  we 
call  the  Confessor). 

'  When  they  had  played  a  while,  the  King  made  a  false 
move ;  on  which  the  Jarl  took  a  knight  from  him  ;  but  the 
King  set  the  piece  on  the  board  again,  and  told  the  Jarl  to 
make  another  move.  But  the  Jarl  flew  angry,  tumbled  the 
chess-board  over,  rose,  and  went  away.  The  King  said, 
"  Run  thy  ways,  Ulf  the  Fearful.''  The  Jarl  turned  round 
at  the  door  and  said,  "Thou  wouldst  have  run  farther  at 
Helse  river  hadst  thou  been  left  to  battle  there.  Thou 
didst  not  call  me  Ulf  the  Fearful  when  I  hastened  to  thy 
help  while  the  Swedes  were  beating  thee  like  a  dog.''  The 
Jarl  then  went  out,  and  went  to  bed. 

'  The  following  morning,  while  the  King  was  putting  on 
his  clothes,  he  said  to  his  footboy,  "  Go  thou  to  Jarl  Ulf 
and  kill  him."  The  lad  went,  was  away  a  while,  and  then 
came  back.  The  King  said,  "  Hast  thou  killed  the  Jarl  ? " 
"  I  did  not  kill  him,  for  he  was  gone  to  St.  Lucius's  church." 
There  was  a  man  called  Ivar  the  White,  a  Norwegian  by 
birth,  who  was  the  King's  courtman  and  chamberlain.  The 
King  said  to  him,  "  Go  thou  and  kill  the  Jarl."  Ivar  went 
to  the  church,  and  in  at  the  choir,  and  thrust  his  sword 
through  the  Jarl,  who  died  on  the  spot.  Then  Ivar  went  to 
the  King,  with  the  bloody  sword  in  his  hand. 

'  The  King  said,  "  Hast  thou  killed  the  Jarl  ?  "  "  I  have 
killed  him,"  said  he.  "  Thou  hast  done  well,"  answered  the 
King.'  ^ 

From  a   man   who   built  so  many   churches  (one  on  each 
battle-field  where  he  had  fought,  to  say  nothing  of  the  others), 
and  who  had  in  him  such  depths  of  real  devotion  and   other 
^  Snorro,  ii.  pp.  252-3. 


REIGN   OF  KING   OLAF   THE   SAINT       273 

fine  cosmic  quality,  this  does  seem  rather  strong  !  But  it  is 
characteristic,  withal, — of  the  man,  and  perhaps  of  the  times 
still  more.  In  any  case,  it  is  an  event  worth  noting,  the 
slain  Jarl  Ulf  and  his  connections  being  of  importance  in  the 
history  of  Denmark  and  of  England  also.  Ulfs  wife  was 
Astrid,  sister  of  Knut,  and  their  only  child  was  Svein,  styled 
afterwards  '  Svein  Estrithson '  ('  Astrid-son  ')  when  he  became 
noted  in  the  world, — at  this  time  a  beardless  youth,  who,  on 
the  back  of  this  tragedy,  fled  hastily  to  Sweden,  where  were 
friends  of  Ulf.  After  some  ten  years'"  eclipse  there,  Knut  and 
both  his  sons  being  now  dead,  Svein  reappeared  in  Denmark 
under  a  new  and  eminent  figure,  '  Jarl  of  Denmark,'  highest 
Liegeman  to  the  then  sovereign  there.  Broke  his  oath  to 
said  sovereign,  declared  himself,  Svein  Estrithson,  to  be  real 
King  of  Denmark  ;  and,  after  much  preliminary  trouble,  and 
many  beatings  and  disastrous  flights  to  and  fro,  became  in 
effect  such, — to  the  wonder  of  mankind  ;  for  he  had  not  had 
one  victory  to  cheer  him  on,  or  any  good  luck  or  merit  that 
one  sees,  except  that  of  surviving  longer  than  some  others. 
Nevertheless  he  came  to  be  the  Restorer,  so-called,  of  Danish 
independence ;  sole  remaining  representative  of  Knut  (or 
Knufs  sister),  of  Fork-beard,  Blue-tooth,  and  Old  Gorm  ; 
and  ancestor  of  all  the  subsequent  kings  of  Denmark  for 
some  400  years ;  himself  coming,  as  we  see,  only  by  the 
Distaff^  side,  all  of  the  Sword  or  male  side  having  died  so 
soon.  Early  death,  it  has  been  observed,  was  the  Great 
Knufs  allotment,  and  all  his  posterity's  as  well ; — fatal  limit 
(had  there  been  no  others,  which  we  see  there  were)  to  his 
becoming  '  Charlemagne  of  the  North  **  in  any  considerable 
degree  !  Jarl  Ulf,  as  we  have  seen,  had  a  sister,  Gyda  by 
name,  wife  to  Earl  Godwin  ('  Gudin  Ulfnadsson,'  as  Snorro 
calls  him),  a  very  memorable  Englishman,  whose  son  and  hers. 
King  Harald,  Harold  in  English  books,  is  the  memorablest 
of  all.  These  things  ought  to  be  better  known  to  English 
antiquaries,  and  will  perhaps  be  alluded  to  again. 

This  pretty  little  victory   or  affront,  gained   over  Knut  in 
VOL.  v.  s 


274        EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

Lyni^ord,  was  among  the  last  successes  of  Olaf  against  that 
mighty  man.  Olaf,  the  skilful  captain  he  was,  need  not  have 
despaired  to  defend  his  Norway  against  Knut  and  all  the 
world.  But  he  learned  henceforth,  month  by  month  ever 
more  tragically,  that  his  own  people,  seeing  softer  prospects 
under  Knut,  and  in  particular  the  chiefs  of  them,  industriously 
bribed  by  Knut  for  years  past,  had  fallen  away  from  him  ; 
and  that  his  means  of  defence  were  gone.  Next  summer, 
Knufs  grand  fleet  sailed,  unopposed,  along  the  coast  of 
Norway  ;  Knut  summoning  a  Thing  every  here  and  there,  and 
in  all  of  them  meeting  nothing  but  sky-high  acclamation  and 
acceptance.  Olaf,  with  some  twelve  little  ships,  all  he  now 
had,  lay  quiet  in  some  safe  fjord,  near  Lindena^s,  what  we  now 
call  the  Naze,  behind  some  little  solitary  isles  on  the  south- 
east of  Norway  there ;  till  triumphant  Knut  had  streamed 
home  again.  Home  to  England  again  :  '  Sovereign  of  Nor- 
way **  now,  with  nephew  Hakon  appointed  Jarl  and  Vice-regent 
under  him  !  This  was  the  news  Olaf  met  on  venturing  out ; 
and  that  his  worst  anticipations  were  not  beyond  the  sad 
truth.  All,  or  almost  all,  the  chief  Bonders  and  men  of 
weight  in  Norway  had  declared  against  him,  and  stood  with, 
triumphant  Knut. 

Olaf,  with  his  twelve  poor  ships,  steered  vigorously  along 
the  coast  to  collect  money  and  force, — if  such  could  now  any- 
where be  had.  He  himself  was  resolute  to  hold  out,  and  try. 
'  Sailing  swiftly  with  a  fair  wind,  morning  cloudy  with  some 
showers,'  he  passed  the  coast  of  Jedderen,  which  was  Erling 
Skjalgson's  country,  when  he  got  sure  notice  of  an  endless 
multitude  of  ships,  war-ships,  armed  merchant  ships,  all  kinds 
of  shipping-craft,  down  to  fishermen's  boats,  just  getting 
under  way  against  him,  under  the  command  of  Erling 
Skjalgson, — the  powerfulest  of  his  subjects,  once  much  a 
friend  of  Olafs,  but  now  gone  against  him  to  this  length, 
thanks  to  Olafs  severity  of  justice,  and  Knut's  abundance  in 
gold  and  pi'omises  for  years  back.  To  that  complexion  had 
it  come  with  Erling ;  sailing  with  this  immense  assemblage 


REIGN    OF   KING   OLAF   THE    SAINT       275 

of  the  naval   people  and  populace  of  Norway  to  seize  King 
Olaf,  and  bring  him  to  the  great  Knut  dead  or  alive. 

Erling  had  a  grand  new  ship  of  his  own,  which  far  out- 
sailed the  general  miscellany  of  rebel  ships,  and  was  visibly 
fast  gaining  distance  on  Olaf  himself, — who  well  understood 
what  Erling's  puzzle  was,  between  the  tail  of  his  game  (the 
miscellany  of  rebel  ships,  namely)  that  could  not  come  up, 
and  the  head  or  general  prize  of  the  game  which  was  crowd- 
ing all  sail  to  get  away  ;  and  Olaf  took  advantage  of  the 
same.  "  Lower  your  sails  !  "  said  Olaf  to  his  men  (though  we 
must  go  slower).  "  Ho  you,  we  have  lost  sight  of  them  ! "" 
said  Erling  to  his,  and  put  on  all  his  speed  ;  Olaf  going,  soon 
after  this,  altogether  invisible, — behind  a  little  island  that  he 
knew  of,  whence  into  a  certain  fiord  or  bay  (Bay  of  Fungen 
on  the  maps),  which  he  thought  would  suit  him.  "  Halt 
here,  and  get  out  your  arms,'"  said  Olaf,  and  had  not  to  wait 
long  till  Erling  came  bounding  in,  past  the  rocky  promontory, 
and  with  astonishment  beheld  Olafs  fleet  of  twelve  with  their 
battleaxes  and  their  grappling-irons  all  in  perfect  readiness. 
These  fell  on^hira,  the  unready  Erling,  simultaneous,  like  a 
cluster  of  angry  bees  ;  and  in  a  few  minutes  cleared  his  ship 
of  men  altogther,  except  Erling  himself.  Nobody  asked  his 
life,  nor  proljably  would  have  got  it  if  he  had.  Only  Erling 
still  stood  erect  on  a  high  place  on  the  poop,  fiercely  defensive, 
and  very  difficult  to  get  at.  '  Could  not  be  reached  at  all,' 
says  Snorro,  '  exce])t  by  spears  or  arrows,  and  these  he  warded 
off  with  untiring  dexterity  ;  no  man  in  Norway,  it  was  said, 
had  ever  defended  himself  so  long  alone  against  many,' — an 
almost  invincible  Erling,  had  his  cause  been  good.  Olaf  him- 
self noticed  Erling's  behaviour,  and  said  to  him,  from  the 
foredeck  below,  "  Thou  hast  turned  against  me  today, 
Erling."  "The  eagles  fight  breast  to  breast,"  answers  he. 
This  was  a  speech  of  the  king's  to  Erling  once  long  ago,  while 
they  stood  fighting,  not  as  now,  but  side  by  side.  The  king, 
with  some  transient  thought  of  possibility  going  through  his 
head,  rejoins,  "Wilt  thou  surrender,  Erling?"     "That  will 


276        EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

I,""  answered  he  ;  took  the  hehiiet  off  his  head ;  laid  down 
sword  and  shield  ;  and  went  forward  to  the  forecastle  deck. 
The  king  pricked,  I  think  not  very  harshly,  into  Erling's  chin 
or  beard  with  the  point  of  his  battle-axe,  saying,  "  I  must 
mark  thee  as  traitor  to  thy  Sovereign,  though."  Whereupon 
one  of  the  bystanders,  Aslak  Fitiaskalle,  stupidly  and  fiercely 
burst  up  ;  smote  Erling  on  the  head  with  his  axe ;  so  that  it 
struck  fast  in  his  brain  and  was  instantly  the  death  of  Erling. 
"  Ill-luck  attend  thee  for  that  stroke ;  thou  hast  struck  Nor- 
way out  of  my  hand  by  it ! "  cried  the  king  to  Aslak  ;  but 
forgave  the  poor  fellow,  who  had  done  it  meaning  well.  The 
insurrectionary  Bonder  fleet  arriving  soon  after,  as  if  for  cer- 
tain victory,  was  struck  with  astonishment  at  this  Erling 
catastrophe ;  and  being  now  without  any  leader  of  authority, 
made  not  the  least  attempt  at  battle  ;  but,  full  of  discourage- 
ment and  consternation,  thankfully  allowed  Olaf  to  sail  away 
on  his  northward  voyage,  at  discretion  ;  and  themselves  went 
ofl'  lamenting,  with  Erling's  dead  body. 

This  small  victory  was  the  last  that  Olaf  had  over  his 
many  enemies  at  present.  He  sailed  along,  still  northward, 
day  after  day  ;  several  important  people  joined  him  ;  but  the 
news  from  landward  grew  daily  more  ominous  :  Bonders  busily 
arming  to  rear  of  him  ;  and  ahead,  Hakon  still  more  busily 
at  Trondhjem,  now  near  by,  " — and  he  will  end  thy  days, 
King,  if  he  have  strength  enough  ! ""  Olaf  paused  ;  sent  scouts 
to  a  hill-top  :  "  Hakon's  armament  visible  enough,  and  under 
way  hitherward,  about  the  Isle  of  Bjarno,  yonder  ! ""  Soon 
after,  Olaf  himself  saw  the  Bonder  armament  of  twenty-five 
ships,  from  the  southward,  sail  past  in  the  distance  to  join 
that  of  Hakon ;  and,  worse  still,  his  own  ships,  one  and 
another  (seven  in  all),  were  slipping  off  on  a  like  errand  !  He 
made  for  the  Fiord  of  Fodrar,  mouth  of  the  rugged  strath 
called  Valdai, — which  I  think  still  knows  Olaf,  and  has  now 
an  '  Olaf  s  Highway,''  where,  nine  centuries  ago,  it  scarcely  had 
a  path.  Olaf  entered  this  fiord,  had  his  land-tent  set  up, 
and  a  cross  beside  it,  on  the  small  level  green  behind  the  pro- 


REIGN   OF   KING   OLAF  THE   SAINT       277 

montory  there.  Finding  that  his  twelve  poor  ships  were  now 
reduced  to  five,  against  a  world  all  risen  upon  him,  he  could 
not  but  see  and  admit  to  himself  that  there  was  no  chance 
left ;  and  that  he  must  withdraw  across  the  mountains  and 
wait  for  a  better  time. 

His  journey  through  that  wild  country,  in  these  forlorn 
and  straitened  circumstances,  has  a  mournful  dignity  and 
homely  pathos,  as  described  by  Snorro  :  how  he  drew  up  his 
five  poor  ships  upon  the  beach,  packed  all  their  furniture 
away,  and  with  his  hundred  or  so  of  attendants  and  their 
journey -baggage,  under  guidance  of  some  friendly  Bonder, 
rode  up  into  the  desert  and  foot  of  the  mountains ;  scaled, 
after  three  days'  effort  (as  if  by  miracle,  thought  his  attend- 
ants and  thought  Snorro),  the  well-nigh  precipitous  slope 
that  led  across, — never  without  miraculous  aid  from  Heaven 
and  Olaf,  could  baggage-wagons  have  ascended  that  path  ! 
In  short.  How  he  fared  along,  beset  by  difficulties  and  the 
mournfulest  thoughts ;  but  patiently  persisted,  steadfastly 
trusted  in  God  ;  and  was  fixed  to  return,  and  by  God's  help  try 
again.  An  evidently  very  pious  and  devout  man  ;  a  good  man 
struggling  with  adversity,  such  as  the  gods,  we  may  still  imagine 
with  the  ancients,  do  look  down  upon  as  their  noblest  sight. 

He  got  to  Sweden,  to  the  court  of  his  brother-in-law ; 
kindly  and  nobly  enough  received  there,  though  gradually, 
perhaps,  ill-seen  by  the  now  authorities  of  Norway.  So  that, 
before  long,  he  quitted  Sweden ;  left  his  queen  there  with  her 
only  daughter,  his  and  hers,  the  only  child  they  had ;  he 
himself  had  an  only  son,  '  by  a  bondwoman,"*  Magnus  by 
name,  who  came  to  great  things  afterwards  ;  of  whom,  and  of 
which,  by  and  by.  With  this  bright  little  boy,  and  a  selected 
escort  of  attendants,  he  moved  away  to  Russia,  to  King  Jar- 
roslav ;  where  he  might  wait  secure  against  all  risk  of  hurting 
kind  friends  by  his  presence.  He  seems  to  have  been  an  exile 
altogether  some  two  years, — such  is  one's  vague  notion  ;  for 
there  is  no  chronology  in  Snorro  or  his  Sagas,  and  one  is  re- 
duced   to    guessing    and    inferring.      He    had    reigned    over 


278        EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

Norway,  reckoning  from  the  first  days  of  his  landing  there 
to  those  last  of  his  leaving  it  across  the  DovreQeld,  about 
fifteen  years,  ten  of  them  shiningly  victorious. 

The  news  from  Norway  were  naturally  agitating  to  King 
Olaf ;  and,  in  the  fluctuation  of  events  there,  his  purposes  and 
prospects  varied  much.  He  sometimes  thought  of  pilgriming 
to  Jerusalem,  and  a  henceforth  exclusively  religious  life ;  but 
for  most  part  his  pious  thoughts  themselves  gravitated  to- 
wards Norwav,  and  a  stroke  for  his  old  place  and  task  there, 
which  he  steadily  considered  to  have  been  committed  to  him 
by  God.  Norway,  by  the  rumours,  was  evidently  not  at  rest. 
Jarl  Hakon,  under  the  high  patronage  of  his  uncle,  had  lasted 
there  but  a  little  while.  I  know  not  that  his  government 
was  especially  unpopular,  nor  whether  he  himself  much 
remembered  his  broken  oath.  It  appears,  however,  he  had 
left  in  England  a  beautiful  bride  ;  and  considering  farther 
that  in  England  only  could  bridal  ornaments  and  other 
wedding  outfit  of  a  sufficiently  royal  kind  be  found,  he  set 
sail  thither,  to  fetch  her  and  them  himself.  One  evening  of 
wildish-looking  weather  he  was  seen  about  the  north-east 
corner  of  the  Pentland  Frith  ;  the  night  rose  to  be  tempestu- 
ous ;  Hakon  or  any  timber  of  his  fleet  was  never  seen  more. 
Had  all  gone  down, — broken  oaths,  bridal  hopes,  and  all 
else ;  mouse  and  man, — into  the  roaring  waters.  There  was 
no  farther  Opposition-line ;  the  like  of  which  had  lasted  ever 
since  old  heathen  Hakon  Jarl,  down  to  this  his  grandson, 
Hakon's  Jinis  in  the  Pentland  Frith.  With  this  Hakon's 
disappearance  it  now  disappeared. 

Indeed  Knut  himself,  though  of  an  empire  suddenly  so 
great,  was  but  a  temporary  phenomenon.  Fate  had  decided 
that  the  grand  and  wise  Knut  was  to  be  short-lived ;  and  to 
leave  nothing  as  successors  but  an  ineffectual  young  Harald 
Harefoot,  who  soon  perished,  and  a  still  stupider  fiercely- 
drinking  Harda-Knut,  who  rushed  down  of  apoplexy  (here  in 
London  Citv,  as  I  guess),  with  the  goblet  at  his  mouth,  drink- 
ing health  and  happiness  at  a  wedding-feast,  also  before  long. 


REIGN   OF   KING   OLAF   THE   SAINT       279 

Hakon  having  vanished  in  this  dark  way,  there  ensued  a 
pause,  both  on  Knut's  part  and  on  Norway's.  Pause  or 
interregnum  of  some  months,  till  it  became  certain,  first, 
whether  Hakon  were  actually  dead,  secondly,  till  Norway, 
and  especially  till  King  Knut  himself,  could  decide  what  to 
do.  Knut,  to  the  deep  disappointment,  which  had  to  keep 
itself  silent,  of  three  or  four  chief  Norway  men,  named 
none  of  these  three  or  four  Jarl  of  Norway  ;  but  be- 
thought him  of  a  certain  Svein,  a  bastard  son  of  his  own, 
— who,  and  almost  still  more  his  English  mother,  much 
desired  a  career  in  the  world  fitter  for  him,  thought  they 
indignantly,  than  that  of  captain  over  Jomsburg,  where  alone 
the  father  had  been  able  to  provide  for  him  hitherto.  Svein 
was  sent  to  Norway  as  King  or  vice-king  for  Father  Kimt ; 
and  along  with  him  his  fond  and  vehement  mother.  Neither 
of  whom  gained  any  favour  from  the  Norse  people  by  the  kind 
of  management  they  ultimately  came  to  show. 

Olaf  on  news  of  this  change,  and  such  uncertainty  prevail- 
ing everywhere  in  Norway  as  to  the  future  course  of  things,— 
whether  Syein  would  come,  as  was  rumoured  of  at  last,  and 
be  able  to  maintain  himself  if  he  did, — thought  there  might 
be  something  in  it  of  a  chance  for  himself  and  his  rights. 
And,  after  lengthened  hesitation,  much  prayer,  pious  invoca- 
tion, and  consideration,  decided  to  go  and  try  it.  The  final 
grain  that  had  turned  the  balance,  it  appears,  was  a  half- 
waking  morning  dream,  or  almost  ocular  vision  he  had  of  his 
glorious  cousin  Olaf  Tryggveson,  who  severely  admonished, 
exhorted,  and  encouraged  him  ;  and  disappeared  grandly, 
just  in  the  instant  of  Olafs  awakening;  so  that  Olaf  almost 
fancied  he  had  seen  the  very  figure  of  him,  as  it  melted 
into  air.  "  Let  us  on,  let  us  on  ! "  thought  Olaf  always 
after  that.  He  left  his  son,  not  in  Russia,  but  in  Sweden 
with  the  Queen,  who  proved  very  good  and  carefully  helpful 
in  wise  ways  to  him  : — in  Russia  Olaf  had  now  nothing  more 
to  do  but  give  his  grateful  adieus,  and  get  ready. 

His    march    towards     Sweden,    and    from     that    towards 


280        EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

Norway  and  the  passes  of  the  mountains,  down  Vaerdal, 
towards  Stickelstad,  and  the  crisis  that  awaited,  is  beautifully 
depicted  by  Snorro.  It  has,  all  of  it,  the  description  (and  we 
see  clearly,  the  fact  itself  had),  a  kind  of  pathetic  grandeur, 
simplicity,  and  rude  nobleness ;  something  Epic  or  Homeric, 
without  the  metre  or  the  singing  of  Homer,  but  with  all  the 
sincerity,  rugged  truth  to  nature,  and  much  more  of  piety, 
devoutness,  reverence  for  what  is  forever  High  in  this  Uni- 
verse, than  meets  us  in  those  old  Greek  Ballad-mongers. 
Singularly  visual  all  of  it,  too,  brought  home  in  every  par- 
ticular to  one's  imagination,  so  that  it  stands  out  almost  as  a 
thing  one  actually  saw. 

Olaf  had  about  three  thousand  men  with  him  ;  gathered 
mostly  as  he  fared  along  through  Norway.  Four  hundred, 
raised  by  one  Dag,  a  kinsman  whom  he  had  found  in  Sweden 
and  persuaded  to  come  with  him,  marched  usually  in  a 
separate  body ;  and  were,  or  might  have  been,  rather  an 
important  element.  Learning  that  the  Bonders  were  all 
arming,  especially  in  Trondhjem  country,  Olaf  streamed  down 
towards  them  in  the  closest  order  he  could.  By  no  means 
very  close,  subsistence  even  for  three  thousand  being  difficult 
in  such  a  country.  His  speech  was  almost  always  free  and 
cheerful,  though  his  thoughts  always  naturally  were  of  a 
high  and  earnest,  almost  sacred  tone ;  devout  above  all. 
Stickelstad,  a  small  poor  hamlet  still  standing  where  the 
valley  ends,  was  seen  by  Olaf,  and  tacitly  by  the  Bonders  as 
well,  to  be  the  natural  place  for  offering  battle.  There  Olaf 
issued  out  from  the  hills  one  morning  :  drew  himself  up  accord- 
ing to  the  best  rules  of  Norse  tactics, — rules  of  little  com- 
plexity, but  perspicuously  true  to  the  facts.  I  think  he  had 
a  clear  open  ground  still  rather  raised  above  the  plain  in 
front ;  he  could  see  how  the  Bonder  army  had  not  yet  quite 
aiTived,  but  was  pouring  forward,  in  spontaneous  rows  or 
groups,  copiously  by  every  path.  This  was  thought  to  be 
the  biggest  army  that  ever  met  in  Norway  ;  '  certainly  not 
much  fewer  than  a  hundred  times  a  hundred  men,'  according 


REIGN   OF   KING   OLAF  THE   SAINT       281 

to  SnoiTO ;  great  Bonders  several  of  them,  small  Bonders  very 
many, — all  of  willing  mind,  animated  with  a  hot  sense  of 
intolerable  inj  iiries,  '  King  Olaf  had  punished  great  and 
small  with  equal  rigour,'  says  Snorro ;  '  which  appeared  to 
the  chief  people  of  the  country  too  severe  ;  and  animosity  rose 
to  the  highest  when  they  lost  relatives  by  the  King's  just 
sentence,  although  they  were  in  reality  guilty.  He  again 
would  rather  renounce  his  dignity  than  omit  righteous  judg- 
ment. The  accusation  against  him,  of  being  stingy  with  his 
money,  was  not  just,  for  he  was  a  most  generous  man  towards 
his  friends.  But  that  alone  was  the  cause  of  the  discontent 
raised  against  him,  that  he  appeared  hard  and  severe  in  his 
retributions.  Besides,  King  Knut  offered  large  sums  of  money, 
and  the  great  chiefs  were  corrupted  by  this,  and  by  his 
offering  them  greater  dignities  than  they  had  possessed 
before."  On  these  grounds,  against  the  intolerable  man, 
great  and  small  were  now  pouring  along  by  every  path. 

Olaf  perceived  it  would  still  be  some  time  before  the 
Bonder  army  was  in  rank.  His  own  Dag  of  Sweden,  too, 
was  not  yet  come  up ;  he  was  to  have  the  right  banner ; 
King  Olafs  own  being  the  middle  or  grand  one ;  some  other 
person  the  third  or  left  banner.  All  which  being  perfectly 
ranked  and  settled,  according  to  the  best  rules,  and  waiting- 
only  the  arrival  of  Dag,  Olaf  bade  his  men  sit  down,  and 
freshen  themselves  with  a  little  rest.  There  were  religious 
services  gone  through  :  a  wa^m^- worship  such  as  there  have 
been  few ;  sternly  earnest  to  the  heart  of  it,  and  deep  as 
death  and  eternity,  at  least  on  Olaf's  own  part.  For  the 
rest  Thormod  sang  a  stave  of  the  fiercest  Skaldic  poetry  that 
was  in  him  ;  all  the  army  straightway  sang  it  in  chorus  with 
fiery  mind.  The  Bonder  of  the  nearest  farm  came  up,  to  tell 
Olaf  that  he  also  wished  to  fight  for  him.  "  Thanks  to  thee  ; 
but  don't,"  said  Olaf ;  "  stay  at  home  rather,  that  the 
wounded  may  have  some  shelter."  To  this  Bonder,  Olaf 
delivered  all  the  money  he  had,  with  solemn  order  to  lay  out 
the  whole  of  it  in  masses  and  prayers  for  the  souls  of  such  of 


282        EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

his  enemies  as  fell.  "  Such  of  thy  enemies,  King  ?  "  "  Yes, 
surely,"  said  Olaf,  "  my  friends  will  all  either  conquer,  or  go 
whither  I  also  am  going." 

At  last  the  Bonder  army  too  was  got  ranked ;  three  com- 
manders, one  of  them  with  a  kind  of  loose  chief  command, 
having  settled  to  take  charge  of  it ;  and  began  to  shake  itself 
towards  actual  advance.  Olaf,  in  the  mean  while,  had  laid 
his  head  on  the  knees  of  Finn  Arneson,  his  trustiest  man,  and 
fallen  fast  asleep.  Finn's  brother,  Kalf  Arneson,  once  a  warm 
friend  of  Olaf,  was  chief  of  the  three  commanders  on  the 
opposite  side.  Finn  and  he  addressed  angry  speech  to  one 
another  from  the  opposite  ranks,  when  they  came  near 
enough.  Finn,  seeing  the  enemy  fairly  approach,  stirred  Olaf 
from  his  sleep.  "  Oh,  why  hast  thou  wakened  me  from  such 
a  dream  ?  "  said  Olaf,  in  a  deeply  solemn  tone.  "  What  dream 
was  it,  then  ? "  asked  Finn.  "  I  dreamt  that  there  rose  a 
ladder  here  reaching  up  to  very  Heaven,"  said  Olaf;  "  I  had 
climbed  and  climbed,  and  got  to  the  very  last  step,  and  should 
have  entered  there  hadst  thou  given  me  another  moment." 
"  King,  I  doubt  thou  art/eT/ ;  I  do  not  quite  like  that  dream." 

The  actual  fight  began  about  one  of  the  clock  in  a  most 
bright  last  day  of  July,  and  was  very  fierce  and  hot,  especially 
on  the  part  of  Olafs  men,  who  shook  the  others  back  a  little, 
though  fierce  enough  they  too  ;  and  had  Dag  been  on  the 
ground,  which  he  wasn't  yet,  it  was  thought  victory  might 
have  been  won.  Soon  after  battle  joined,  the  sky  grew  of  a 
ghastly  brass  or  copper  colour,  darker  and  darker,  till  thick 
nio-ht  involved  all  things  ;  and  did  not  clear  away  again  till 
battle  was  near  ending.  Dag,  with  his  four  hundred,  arrived 
in  the  darkness,  and  made  a  furious  charge,  what  was  after- 
wards, in  the  speech  of  the  people,  called  'Dag's  storm.' 
Which  had  nearly  prevailed,  but  could  not  quite;  victory 
again  inclining  to  the  so  vastly  larger  party.  It  is  uncertain 
still  how  the  matter  would  have  gone  ;  for  Olaf  himself  was 
now  fighting  with  his  own  hand,  and  doing  deadly  execution 
on  his  busiest  enemies  to  right  and  to  left.      But  one  of  these 


REIGN   OF    KING    OLAF   THE   SAINT       283 

chief  rebels,  Thorer  Hund  (thought  to  have  learnt  magic 
from  the  Laplanders,  whom  he  long  traded  with,  and  made 
money  by),  mysteriously  would  not  fall  for  Olafs  best  strokes. 
Best  strokes  brought  only  dust  from  the  (enchanted)  deer- 
skin coat  of  the  fellow,  to  Olafs  surprise, — when  another  of 
the  rebel  chiefs  rushed  forward,  struck  Olaf  with  his  battle- 
axe,  a  wild  slashing  wound,  and  miserably  broke  his  thigh, 
so  that  he  staggered  or  was  supported  back  to  the  nearest 
stone ;  and  there  sat  down,  lamentably  calling  on  God  to 
help  him  in  this  bad  hour.  Another  rebel  of  note  (the  name 
of  him  long  memorable  in  Norway)  slashed  or  stabbed  Olaf 
a  second  time,  as  did  then  a  third.  Upon  which  the  noble 
Olaf  sank  dead  ;  and  forever  quitted  this  doghole  of  a  world, 
— little  worthy  of  such  men  as  Olaf,  one  sometimes  thinks. 
But  that  too  is  a  mistake,  and  even  an  important  one,  should 
we  persist  in  it. 

With  Olafs  death  the  sky  cleared  again.  Battle,  now 
near  done,  ended  with  complete  victory  to  the  rebels,  and 
next  to  no  pursuit  or  result,  except  the  death  of  Olaf; 
everybody -hastening  home,  as  soon  as  the  big  Duel  had 
decided  itself.  Olafs  body  was  secretly  carried,  after  dark, 
to  some  out-house  on  the  farm  near  the  spot ;  whither  a  poor 
blind  beggar,  creeping  in  for  shelter  that  very  evening,  was 
miraculously  restored  to  sight.  And,  truly  with  a  notable, 
almost  miraculous,  speed,  the  feelings  of  all  Norway  for  King 
Olaf  changed  themselves,  and  were  turned  upside  down, 
'  within  a  year,'  or  almost  within  a  day.  Superlative  example 
of  ExtincUis  amahUur  idem.  Not  '  Olaf  the  Thick-set '  any 
longer,  but  '  Olaf  the  Blessed '  or  Saint,  now  clearly  in 
Heaven  ;  such  the  name  and  character  of  him  from  that  time 
to  this.  Two  churches  dedicated  to  him  (out  of  four  that 
once  stood)  stand  in  London  at  this  moment.  And  the 
miracles  that  have  been  done  there,  not  to  speak  of  Norway 
and  Christendom  elsewhere,  in  his  name,  were  numerous  and 
great  for  long  centuries  afterwards.  Visibly  a  Saint  Olaf 
ever  since ;    and,  indeed,   in   Bollandns  or  elsewhere,   I  have 


284        EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

seldom  met  with  better  stuff  to  make  a  Saint  of,  or  a  true 
World-Hero  in  all  good  senses. 

Speaking  of  the  London  Olaf  Churches,  I  should  have 
added  that  from  one  of  these  the  thrice-famous  Tooley  Street 
gets  its  name, — where  those  Three  Tailors,  addressing  Parlia- 
ment and  the  Universe,  sublimely  styled  themselves,  "  We, 
the  People  of  England."  Saint  Olave  Street,  Saint  Oley 
Street,  Stooley  Street,  Tooley  Street ;  such  are  the  metamor- 
phoses of  human  fame  in  the  world  ! 

The  battle-day  of  Stickelstad,  King  Olafs  death-day,  is 
generally  believed  to  have  been  Wednesday,  July  31,  1033, 
But  on  investigation,  it  turns  out  that  there  was  no  total 
eclipse  of  the  sun  visible  in  Norway  that  year ;  though  three 
years  before,  there  was  one  ;  but  on  the  29th  instead  of  the 
31st.  So  that  the  exact  date  still  remains  uncertain ; 
Dahlmann,  the  latest  critic,  inclining  for  1030,  and  its 
indisputable  eclipse.^ 


CHAPTER    XI 
MAGNUS    THE  GOOD    AND    OTHERS 

St,  Olaf  is  the  highest  of  these  Norway  Kings,  and  is  the 
last  that  much  attracts  us.  For  this  reason,  if  a  reason  were 
not  superfluous,  we  might  here  end  our  poor  reminiscences  of 
those  dim  Sovereigns.  But  we  will,  nevertheless,  for  the 
sake  of  their  connection  with  bits  of  English  History,  still 
hastily  mention  the  names  of  one  or  two  who  follow,  and 
who  throw  a  momentary  gleam  of  life  and  illumination  on 
events  and  epochs  that  have  fallen  so  extinct  among  ourselves 
at  present,  though  once  they  were  so  momentous  and  memor- 
able. 

The  new  King  Svein  from  Jomsburg,  Knufs  natural  son, 
had  no  success  in   Norway,  nor  seems  to  have  deserved   any, 

'  Saxon  Chronicle  s^.ys  expressly,  under  A.  D.   1030  :   'In  this  year  King  Olaf 
was  slain  in  Norway  by  his  own  people,  and  was  afterwards  sainted. ' 


MAGNUS   THE   GOOD   AND   OTHERS       285 

His  English  mother  and  he  were  found  to  be  grasping, 
oppressive  persons ;  and  awoke,  almost  from  the  instant  that 
Olaf  was  suppressed  and  crushed  away  from  Norway  into 
Heaven,  universal  odium  more  and  more  in  that  country. 
Well -deservedly,  as  still  appears ;  for  their  taxings  and 
extortions  of  malt,  of  herring,  of  meal,  smithwork  and  every 
article  taxable  in  Norway,  were  extreme ;  and  their  service 
to  the  country  otherwise  nearly  imperceptible.  In  brief  their 
one  basis  there  was  the  power  of  Knut  the  Great ;  and  that, 
like  all  earthly  things,  was  liable  to  sudden  collapse, — and  it 
suffered  such  in  a  notable  degree.  King  Knut,  hardly  yet 
of  middle  age,  and  the  greatest  King  in  the  then  world,  died 
at  Shaftesbury,  in  1035,  as  Dahlmann  thinks,^ — leaving  two 
legitimate  sons  and  a  busy,  intriguing  widow  (Norman 
Emma,  widow  of  Ethelred  the  Unready),  mother  of  the 
younger  of  these  two ;  neither  of  whom  proved  to  have  any 
talent  or  any  continuance.  In  spite  of  Emma''s  utmost 
efforts,  Harald,  the  elder  son  of  Knut,  not  hers,  got  England 
for  his  kingdom ;  Emma  and  her  Harda-Knut  had  to  be 
content  with  Denmark,  and  go  thither,  much  against  their 
will.  Harald  in  England, — light-going  little  figure  like  his 
father  before  him, — got  the  name  of  Harefoot  here ;  and 
might  have  done  good  work  among  his  now  orderly  and 
settled  people ;  but  he  died  almost  within  year  and  day ; 
and  has  left  no  trace  among  us,  except  that  of  '  Harefoot,' 
from  his  swift  mode  of  walking.  Emma  and  her  Harda- 
Knut  now  returned  joyful  to  England.  But  the  violent, 
idle,  and  drunken  Harda-Knut  did  no  good  there ;  and, 
happily  for  England  and  him,  soon  suddenly  ended,  by  stroke 
of  apoplexy  at  a  marriage  festival,  as  mentioned  above.  In 
Denmark  he  had  done  still  less  good.  And  indeed,  under 
him,  in  a  year  or  two,  the  grand  imperial  edifice,  laboriously 
built  by  Knufs  valour  and  wisdom,  had  already  tumbled  all 

^  Saxon  Chronicle  says  :  '  1035.  In  this  year  died  King  Cnut.  .  .  .  He 
departed  at  Shaftesbury,  November  12,  and  they  conveyed  him  thence  to 
Winchester,  and  there  buried  him.' 


286        EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

to  the  ground,  in  a  most  unexpected  and   remarkable   way. 
As  we  are  now^  to  indicate  with  all  brevity. 

Svein's  tyrannies  in  Norway  had  wrought  such  fruit  that, 
within  the  four  years  after  Olafs  death,  the  chief  men  in 
Norway,  the  very  slayers  of  King  Olaf,  Kalf  Arneson  at  the 
head  of  them,  met  secretly  once  or  twice ;  and  unanimously 
agreed  that  Kalf  Arneson  must  go  to  Sweden,  or  to  Russia 
itself ;  seek  young  Magnus,  son  of  Olaf,  home :  excellent 
Magnus,  to  be  king  over  all  Norway  and  them,  instead  of 
this  intolerable  Svein.  Which  was  at  once  done, — Magnus 
brought  home  in  a  kind  of  triumph,  all  Norway  waiting  for 
him.  Intolerable  Svein  had  already  been  rebelled  against : 
some  years  before  this,  a  certain  young  Tryggve  out  of 
Ireland,  authentic  son  of  Olaf  Tryggveson  and  of  that  fine 
Irish  Princess  who  chose  him  in  his  low  habiliments  and  low 
estate,  and  took  him  over  to  her  own  Green  Island, — this 
royal  young  Trvggve  Olafson  had  invaded  the  usurper  Svein, 
in  a  fierce,  valiant,  and  determined  manner;  and  though 
with  too  small  a  party,  showed  excellent  fight  for  some  time ; 
till  Svein,  zealously  bestirring  himself,  managed  to  get  him 
beaten  and  killed.  But  that  was  a  couple  of  years  ago  ;  the 
party  still  too  small,  not  including  one  and  all  as  now  ! 
Svein,  without  stroke  of  sword  this  time,  moved  off  towards 
Denmark  ;  never  showing  face  in  Norway  again.  His  drunken 
brother,  Harda-Knut,  received  him  brother-like ;  even  gave 
him  some  territory  to  rule  over  and  subsist  upon.  But  he 
lived  only  a  short  while ;  was  gone  before  Harda-Knut 
himself;   and  we  will  mention  him  no  more. 

Magnus  was  a  fine  bright  young  fellow,  and  proved  a 
valiant,  wise,  and  successful  King,  known  among  his  people 
as  IMagnus  the  Good.  He  was  only  natural  son  of  King 
Olaf;  but  that  made  little  difference  in  those  times  and 
there.  His  strange- looking,  unexpected  Latin  name  he  got 
in  this  way  :  Alfhild,  his  mother,  a  slave  through  ill-luck  of 
war,  though  nobly  born,  was  seen  to  be  in  a  hopeful  way ; 
and  it  was  known  in  the  King's  house  how   intimately  Olaf 


MAGNUS   THE   GOOD   AND   OTHERS       287 

was  connected  with  that  occurrence,  and  how  much  he  loved 
this  '  King's  serving-maid,"'  as  she  was  commonly  designated. 
Alfhild  was  brought  to  bed  late  at  night ;  and  all  the  world, 
especially  King  Olaf,  was  asleep  ;  Olafs  strict  rule,  then  and 
always,  being,  Don't  awaken  me  : — seemingly  a  man  sensitive 
about  his  sleep.  The  child  was  a  boy,  of  rather  weakly 
aspect ;  no  important  person  present,  except  Sigvat,  the 
King's  Icelandic  Skald,  who  happened  to  be  still  awake  ;  and 
the  Bishop  of  Norway,  who,  I  suppose,  had  been  sent  for  in 
hurry.  "  What  is  to  be  done  ?  "  said  the  Bishop  :  "  here  is 
an  infant  in  pressing  need  of  baptism ;  and  we  know  not 
what  the  name  is  :  go,  Sigvat,  awaken  the  King,  and  ask." 
"  I  dare  not  for  my  life,"  answered  Sigvat ;  "  King's  orders 
are  rigorous  on  that  point."  "  But  if  the  child  die  unbap- 
tised,"  said  the  Bishop,  shuddering ;  too  certain,  he  and 
everybody,  where  the  child  would  go  in  that  case  !  "  I  will 
myself  give  him  a  name,"  said  Sigvat,  with  a  desperate  con- 
centration of  all  his  faculties ;  "  he  shall  be  namesake  of  the 
greatest  of  mankind, — imperial  Carolus  INIagnus ;  let  us  call 
the  infant  JVIagnus  ! "  King  Olaf,  on  the  morrow,  asked 
rather  sharply  how  Sigvat  had  dared  take  such  a  liberty ;  but 
excused  Sigvat,  seeing  what  the  perilous  alternative  was. 
And  Magnus,  by  such  accident,  this  boy  was  called  ;  and  he, 
not  another,  is  the  prime  origin  and  introducer  of  that  name 
Magnus,  which  occurs  rather  frequently,  not  among  the 
Norman  Kings  only,  but  by  and  by  among  the  Danish  and 
Swedish  ;  and,  among  the  Scandinavian  populations,  appears 
to  be  rather  frequent  to  this  day. 

Magnus,  a  youth  of  great  spirit,  whose  own,  and  standing 
at  his  beck,  all  Norway  now  was,  immediately  smote  home  on 
Denmark  ;  desirous  naturally  of  vengeance  for  Avhat  it  had 
done  to  Norway,  and  the  sacred  kindred  of  Magnus.  Denmark, 
its  great  Knut  gone,  and  nothing  but  a  drunken  Harda-Knut, 
fugitive  Svein  and  Co.,  there  in  his  stead,  was  become  a  weak 
dislocated  Country.  And  Magnus  plundered  in  it,  burnt  it, 
beat  it,  as  often  as  he  pleased  ;   Harda-Knut  struggling  what 


288         EARLY   KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

he  could  to  make  resistance  or  reprisals,  but  never  once 
getting  any  victory  over  Magnus.  Magnus,  I  perceive,  was, 
like  his  Father,  a  skilful  as  well  as  valiant  fighter  by  sea  and 
land  ;  Magnus,  with  good  battalions,  and  probably  backed 
by  immediate  alliance  with  Heaven  and  St.  Olaf,  as  was  then 
the  general  belief  or  surmise  about  him,  could  not  easily  be 
beaten.  And  the  truth  is,  he  never  was,  by  Harda-Knut  or 
any  other.  Harda-Knut's  last  transaction  with  him  was.  To 
make  a  firm  Peace  and  even  Family-treaty  sanctioned  by  all 
the  grandees  of  both  countries,  who  did  indeed  mainly  them- 
selves make  it ;  their  two  Kings  assenting  :  That  there  should 
be  perpetual  Peace,  and  no  thought  of  war  more,  between 
Denmark  and  Norway;  and  that,  if  either  of  the  Kings 
died  childless  while  the  other  was  reigning,  the  other  should 
succeed  him  in  both  Kingdoms.  A  magnificent  arrangement, 
such  as  has  several  times  been  made  in  the  world's  history ; 
but  which  in  this  instance,  what  is  very  singular,  took  actual 
effect ;  drunken  Harda-Knut  dying  so  speedily,  and  Magnus 
being  the  man  he  was.  One  would  like  to  give  the  date  of 
this  remarkable  Treaty ;  but  cannot  with  precision.  Guess 
somewhere  about  1040:^  actual  fruition  of  it  came  to 
Magnus,  beyond  question,  in  1042,  when  Harda-Knut  drank 
that  wassail-bowl  at  the  wedding  in  Lambeth,  and  fell  down 
dead  ;  which  in  the  Saxon  Chronicle  is  dated  3d  June  of  that 
year.  Magnus  at  once  went  to  Denmark  on  hearing  this 
event;  was  joyfully  received  by  the  head  men  there,  who 
indeed,  with  their  fellows  in  Norway,  had  been  main  con- 
trivers of  the  Treaty;  both  Countries  longing  for  mutual 
peace,  and  the  end  of  such  incessant  broils. 

Magnus  was  triumphantly  received  as  King  in  Denmark. 
The  only  unfortunate  thing  was,  that  Svein  Estrithson,  the 
exile  son  of  Ulf,  Knut's  Brother-in-law,  whom  Knut,  as  we  saw, 
had  summarily  killed  twelve  years  before,  emerged  from  his 
exile  in  Sweden  in  a  flattering  form ;  and  proposed  that 
Magnus  should  make  him  Jarl  of  Denmark,  and  general 
'  Munch  gives  the  date  1038  (ii.  840),  Adam  of  Bremen  1040. 


MAGNUS   THE   GOOD  AND    OTHERS       289 

administrator  there,  in  his  own  stead.  To  which  the  sanguine 
Magnus,  in  spite  of  advice  to  the  contrary,  insisted  on  acced- 
ing. "  Too  powerful  a  Jarl,"  said  Einar  Tamberskelver — 
the  same  Einar  whose  bow  was  heard  to  break  in  Olaf 
Tryggveson"'s  last  battle  ("  Norway  bi-eaking  from  thy  hand, 
King  ! "),  who  had  now  become  Magnus's  chief  man,  and  had 
long  been  among  the  highest  chiefs  in  Norway  ;  "  too  power- 
ful a  Jarl,"  said  Einar  earnestly.  But  Magnus  disregarded  it  ; 
and  a  troublesome  experience  had  to  teach  him  that  it  was 
true.  In  about  a  year,  crafty  Svein,  bringing  ends  to  meet, 
got  himself  declared  King  of  Denmark  for  his  own  behoof, 
instead  of  Jarl  for  another"'s  :  and  had  to  be  beaten  and 
driven  out  by  Magnus.  Beaten  every  year ;  but  almost 
always  returned  next  year,  for  a  new  beating, — almost,  though 
not  altogether ;  having  at  length  got  one  dreadful  smashing- 
down  and  half-killing,  which  held  him  quiet  for  a  while, — so 
long  as  Magnus  lived.  Nay,  in  the  end,  he  made  good  his 
point,  as  if  by  mere  patience  in  being  beaten  ;  and  did  become 
King  himself,  and  progenitor  of  all  the  Kings  that  followed. 
King  Svein  Estrithson ;  so  called  from  Astrid  or  Estrith,  his 
mother,  the  "great  Knut's  sister,  daughter  of  Svein  Fork- 
beard  by  that  amazing  Sigrid  the  Proud,  who  hurnt  those  two 
ineligible  suitors  of  hers  both  at  once,  and  got  a  switch  on 
the  face  from  Olaf  Tryggveson,  which  proved  the  death  of 
that  high  man. 

But  all  this  fine  fortune  of  the  often  beaten  Esthrithson 
was  posterior  to  Magnus's  death ;  Avho  never  would  have 
suffered  it,  had  he  been  alive.  Magnus  was  a  mighty  fighter ; 
a  fiery  man  ;  very  proud  and  positive,  among  other  qualities, 
and  had  such  luck  as  was  never  seen  before.  Luck  invariably 
good,  said  everybody ;  never  once  was  beaten, — which  proves, 
continued  everybody,  that  his  Father  Olaf  and  the  miraculous 
power  of  Heaven  were  with  him  always.  Magnus,  I  believe, 
did  put  down  a  great  deal  of  anarchy  in  those  countries.  One 
of  his  earliest  enterprises  was  to  abolish  Jomsburg,  and 
trample  out  that  nest  of  pirates.       Which    he  managed   so 

VOL.  V.  T 


290         EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

completely  that  Jonisburg  remained  a  mei'e  reminiscence  thence- 
forth ;  and  its  place  is  not  now  known  to  any  mortal. 

One  perverse  thing  did  at  last  turn  up  in  the  course  of 
Magnus ;  a  new  Claimant  for  the  Crown  of  Norway,  and  he 
a  formidable  person  withal.  This  was  Harald,  half-brother 
of  the  late  Saint  Olaf;  uncle  or  half-uncle,  therefore,  of 
Magnus  himself.  Indisputable  son  of  the  Saint's  mother  by 
St.  Olafs  stepfather,  who  was  himself  descended  straight  from 
Harald  Haarfagr.  This  new  Harald  was  already  much  heard 
of  in  the  world.  As  an  ardent  Boy  of  fifteen  he  had  fought 
at  King  Olafs  side  at  Stickelstad ;  would  not  be  admonished 
by  the  Saint  to  go  away.  Got  smitten  down  there,  not 
killed ;  was  smuggled  away  that  night  from  the  field  by 
friendly  help ;  got  cured  of  his  wounds,  forwarded  to  Russia, 
where  he  grew  to  man's  estate,  under  bright  auspices  and  suc- 
cesses. Fell  in  love  with  the  Russian  Princess,  but  could  not 
get  her  to  wife ;  went  off  thereupon  to  Constantinople  as 
Voeringer  (Life-Guardsman  of  the  Greek  Kaiser) ;  became 
Chief  Captain  of  the  Vaeringers,  invincible  champion  of  the 
poor  Kaisers  that  then  were,  and  filled  all  the  East  with  the 
shine  and  noise  of  his  exploits.  An  authentic  Waring  or 
Barings  such  the  surname  we  now  have  derived  from  these 
people ;  who  were  an  important  institution  in  those  Greek 
countries  for  several  ages  :  Vaeringer  Life-Guard,  consisting 
of  Norsemen,  with  sometimes  a  few  English  among  them. 
Harald  had  innumerable  adventures,  nearly  always  successful, 
sing  the  Skalds  ;  gained  a  great  deal  of  wealth,  gold  orna- 
ments, and  gold  coin  ;  had  even  Queen  Zoe  (so  they  sing, 
though  falsely)  enamoured  of  him  at  one  time ;  and  was 
himself  a  Skald  of  eminence ;  some  of  whose  verses,  by  no 
means  the  worst  of  their  kind,  remain  to  this  day. 

This  character  of  Waring  much  distinguishes  Harald  to 
me ;  the  only  Vaeringer  of  whom  I  could  ever  get  the  least 
biography,  true  or  half-true.  It  seems  the  Greek  History- 
books  but  indifferently  correspond  with  these  Saga  records ; 


MAGNUS   THE   GOOD   AND   OTHERS       291 

and  scholars  say  there  could  have  been  no  considerable 
romance  between  Zoe  and  him,  Zoe  at  that  date  being  60 
years  of  age  !  Harald's  own  lays  say  nothing  of  any  Zoe, 
but  are  still  full  of  longing  for  his  Russian  Princess  far 
away. 

At  last,  what  with  Zoes,  what  with  Greek  perversities  and 
perfidies,  and  troubles  that  could  not  fail,  he  determined  on 
quitting  Greece ;  packed  up  his  immensities  of  wealth  in  suc- 
cinct shape,  and  actually  returned  to  Russia,  where  new 
honours  and  favours  awaited  him  from  old  friends,  and 
especially,  if  I  mistake  not,  the  hand  of  that  adorable 
Princess,  crown  of  all  his  wishes  for  the  time  being.  Before 
long,  however,  he  decided  farther  to  look  after  his  Norway 
Royal  heritages ;  and,  for  that  purpose,  sailed  in  force  to  the 
Jarl  or  quasi-King  of  Denmark,  the  often-beaten  Svein,  who 
was  now  in  Sweden  on  his  usual  winter  exile  after  beating. 
Svein  and  he  had  evidently  interests  in  common.  Svein  was 
charmed  to  see  him, — so  warlike,  glorious  and  renowned  a 
man,  with  masses  of  money  about  him,  too.  Svein  did  by 
and  by  become  treacherous ;  and  even  attempted,  one  night, 
to  assassinate  Harald  in  his  bed  on  board  ship  :  but  Harald, 
vigilant  of  Svein,  and  a  man  of  quick  and  sure  insight,  had 
providently  gone  to  sleep  elsewhere,  leaving  a  log  instead  of 
himself  among  the  blankets.  In  which  log,  next  morning, 
treacherous  Svein's  battle-axe  was  found  deeply  sticking  :  and 
could  not  be  removed  without  difficulty  !  But  this  was  after 
Harald  and  King  Magnus  himself  had  begun  treating; 
with  the  fairest  prospects, — which  this  of  the  Svein  battle- 
axe  naturally  tended  to  forward,  as  it  altogether  ended  the 
other  copartnery. 

Magnus,  on  first  hearing  of  Vaeringer  Harald  and  his  in- 
tentions, made  instant  equipment,  and  determination  to  fight 
his  uttermost  against  the  same.  But  wise  persons  of  influ- 
ence round  him,  as  did  the  like  sort  round  Vaeringer  Harald, 
earnestly  advised  compromise  and  peaceable  agreement. 
Which,  soon  after  that  of  Svein's  nocturnal   battle-axe,  was 


292        EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

the  course  adopted  ;  and,  to  the  joy  of  all  parties,  did  prove 
a  successful  solution.  Magnus  agreed  to  part  his  kingdom 
with  Uncle  Harald ;  uncle  parting  his  treasures,  or  uniting 
them  with  Magnus's  poverty.  Each  was  to  be  an  independ- 
ent king,  but  they  were  to  govern  in  common  ;  Magnus  rather 
presiding.  He,  to  sit,  for  example  in  the  High  Seat  alone ; 
King  Harald  opposite  him  in  a  seat  not  quite  so  high,  though 
if  a  stranger  King  came  on  a  visit,  both  the  Norse  Kings 
were  to  sit  in  the  High  Seat.  With  various  other  punctilious 
regulations ;  which  the  fiery  Magnus  was  extremely  strict 
with ;  rendering  the  mutual  relation  a  very  dangerous  one, 
had  not  both  the  Kings  been  honest  men,  and  Harald  a  much 
more  prudent  and  tolerant  one  than  Magnus.  They,  on  the 
whole,  never  had  any  weighty  quarrel,  thanks  now  and  then 
rather  to  Harald  than  to  Magnus.  Magnus  too  was  very 
noble  ;  and  Harald,  with  his  wide  experience  and  greater 
length  of  years,  carefully  held  his  heat  of  temper  well 
covered  in. 

Prior  to  Uncle  Harald's  coming,  Magnus  had  distinguished 
himself  as  a  Lawgiver.  His  Code  of  Laws  for  the  Trondhjem 
Province  was  considered  a  pretty  piece  of  legislation  ;  and  in 
subsequent  times  got  the  name  of  Grey-goose  (Gragas) ;  one 
of  the  wonderfulest  names  ever  given  to  a  wise  Book.  Some 
say  it  came  from  the  grey  colour  of  the  parchment,  some  give 
other  incredible  origins  ;  the  last  guess  I  have  heard  is,  that 
the  name  merely  denotes  antiquity ;  the  witty  name  in 
Norway  for  a  man  growing  old  having  been,  in  those  times, 
that  he  was  now  '  becoming  a  grey-goose.'  Very  fantastic 
indeed  ;  certain,  however,  that  Grey-goose  is  the  name  of  that 
venerable  Law  Book  ;  nay,  there  is  another,  still  more  famous, 
belonging  to  Iceland,  and  not  far  from  a  century  younger, 
the  Iceland  Grey-goose.  The  Norway  one  is  perhaps  of  date 
about  1037,  the  other  of  about  1118;  peace  be  with  them 
both  !  Or,  if  anybody  is  inclined  to  such  matters  let  him 
go  to  Dahlniann,  for  the  amplest  information  and  such 
minuteness  of  detail  as  might  almost  enable  him  to  be  an 


MAGNUS   THE   GOOD   AND   OTHERS       293 

Advocate,  with  Silk  Gown,  in  any  Court  depending  on  these 
Grey-geese. 

Magnus  did  not  live  long.  He  had  a  dream  one  night  of 
his  Father  Olaf's  coming  to  him  in  shining  presence,  and 
announcing,  That  a  magnificent  fortune  and  world -great 
renown  was  now  possible  for  him  ;  but  that  perhaps  it  was 
his  duty  to  refuse  it ;  in  which  case  his  earthly  life  would  be 
short.  "  Which  way  wilt  thou  do,  then  ?  "  said  the  shining 
presence.  "  Thou  shalt  decide  for  me,  Father,  thou,  not  I  ! " 
and  told  his  Uncle  Harald  on  the  morrow^,  adding  that  he 
thought  he  should  now  soon  die  ;  which  proved  to  be  the 
fact.  The  magnificent  fortune,  so  questionable  otherwise, 
has  reference,  no  doubt,  to  the  Conquest  of  England ;  to 
which  country  Magnus,  as  rightful  and  actual  King  of  Den- 
mark, as  well  as  undisputed  heir  to  drunken  Harda-Knut,  by 
treaty  long  ago,  had  now  some  evident  claim.  The  enter- 
prise itself  was  reserved  to  the  patient,  gay,  and  prudent 
Uncle  Harald  ;  and  to  him  it  did  prove  fatal, — and  merely 
paved  the  way  for  Another,  luckier,  not  likelier ! 

Svein  Esti'ithson,  always  beaten  during  Magnus's  life,  by 
and  by  got  an  agreement  from  the  prudent  Harald  to  he 
Kins:  of  Denmark,  then  :  and  end  these  wearisome  and  in- 
effectual  brabbles  ;  Harald  having  other  work  to  do.  But  in 
the  autumn  of  1066,  Tosti,  a  younger  son  of  our  English 
Earl  Godwin,  came  to  Svein's  court  with  a  most  important 
announcement ;  namely,  that  King  Edward  the  Confessor,  so 
called,  was  dead,  and  that  Harold,  as  the  English  write  it,  his 
eldest  brother  would  give  him,  Tosti,  no  sufficient  share  in  the 
kingship.  "Which  state  of  matters,  if  Svein  would  go  ahead 
with  him  to  rectify  it,  would  be  greatly  to  the  advantage  of 
Svein.  Svein,  taught  by  many  beatings,  was  too  wise  for  this 
))roposal ;  refused  Tosti,  Avho  indignantly  stepped  over  into 
Norway,  and  proposed  it  to  King  Harald  there.  Svein  really 
had  acquired  considerable  teaching,  I  should  guess,  from  his 
nmch  beating  and  hard  exjierienco  in  the  world  ;  one  finds 
him  afterwards  the  esteemed   friend  of  the  famous  Historian 


294        EARLY   KINGS    OF   NORWAY 

Adam  of  Bremen,  who  reports  various  wise  humanities,  and 
pleasant  discoursings  with  Svein  Estrithson. 

As  for  Harald  Hardrade,  '  Harald  the  Hard  or  Severe,"  as 
he  was  now  called,  Tosti's  proposal  awakened  in  him  all  his 
old  Vaeringer  ambitions  and  cupidities  into  blazing  vehemence. 
He  zealously  consented  ;  and  at  once,  with  his  whole  strength, 
embarked  in  the  adventure.  Fitted  out  two  hundred  ships, 
and  the  biggest  army  he  could  carry  in  them  ;  and  sailed  with 
Tosti  towards  the  dangerous  Promised  Land.  Got  into  the 
Tyne,  and  took  booty ;  got  into  the  Humber,  thence  into  the 
Ouse ;  easily  subdued  any  opposition  the  official  people  or 
their  populations  could  make ;  victoriously  scattered  these, 
victoriously  took  the  City  of  York  in  a  day ;  and  even  got 
himself  homaged  there,  '  King  of  Northumberland,"'  as  per 
covenant, — Tosti  proving  honourable, — Tosti  and  he  going 
with  faithful  strict  copartnery,  and  all  things  looking  pros- 
perous and  glorious.  Except  only  (an  important  exception  !) 
that  they  learnt  for  certain,  English  Harold  was  advancing 
with  all  his  strength  ;  and,  in  a  measurable  space  of  hours, 
unless  care  were  taken,  would  be  in  York  himself.  Harald 
and  Tosti  hastened  off  to  seize  the  post  of  Stamford  Bridge 
on  Derwent  River,  six  or  seven  miles  east  of  York  City,  and 
there  bar  this  dangerous  advent.  Their  own  ships  lay  not 
far  off  in  Ouse  River,  in  case  of  the  worst.  The  battle  that 
ensued  the  next  day,  September  20,  1066,  is  forever  memor- 
able in  English  history. 

Snorro  gives  vividly  enough  his  view  of  it  from  the  Icelandic 
side  :  A  ring  of  stalwart  Norsemen,  close  ranked,  with  their 
steel  tools  in  hand ;  English  Harold's  Army,  mostly  cavalry, 
prancing  and  pricking  all  around  ;  trying  to  find  or  make 
some  opening  in  that  ring.  For  a  long  time  trying  in  vain, 
till  at  length,  getting  them  enticed  to  burst  out  somewhere  in 
pursuit,  they  quickly  turned  round,  and  quickly  made  an  end 
of  that  matter.  Snorro  represents  English  Harold,  with  a 
first  party  of  these  horse  coming  up,  and,  with  preliminary 
salutations,  asking  if  Tosti  were  there,  and  if  Harald  were ; 


MAGNUS   THE   GOOD   AND   OTHERS       295 

making  generous  proposals  to  Tosti ;  but,  in  regard  to  Harald 
and  what  share  of  England  was  to  be  his,  answering  Tosti 
with  the  words,  "  Seven  feet  of  English  earth,  or  more  if  he 
require  it,  for  a  grave."  Upon  which  Tosti,  like  an  honour- 
able man  and  copartner,  said,  "  No,  never  ;  let  us  fight  you 
rather  till  we  all  die."  "Who  is  this  that  spoke  to  you?" 
inquired  Harald,  when  the  cavaliers  had  withdrawn.  "  My 
brother  Harold,"  answers  Tosti ;  which  looks  rather  like  a 
Saga,  but  may  be  historical  after  all.  Snorro's  history  of 
the  battle  is  intelligible  only  after  you  have  premised  to  it, 
what  he  never  hints  at,  that  the  scene  was  on  the  east  side  of 
the  bridge  and  of  the  Derwent ;  the  great  struggle  for  the 
bridge,  one  at  last  finds,  was  after  the  fall  of  Harald  ;  and  to 
the  English  Chroniclers,  said  struggle,  which  was  abundantly 
severe,  is  all  they  know  of  the  battle. 

Enraged  at  that  breaking  loose  of  his  steel  ring  of  infantry, 
Norse  Harald  blazed  up  into  true  Norse  fury,  all  the  old 
Vasringer  and  Berserkir  rage  awakening  in  him ;  sprang 
forth  into  the  front  of  the  fight,  and  mauled  and  cut  and 
smashed  down,  on  both  hands  of  him,  everything  he  met, 
irresistible  by  any  horse  or  man,  till  an  aiTow  cut  him 
through  the  windpipe,  and  laid  him  low  forever.  That  was 
the  end  of  King  Harald  and  of  his  workings  in  this  world. 
The  circumstance  that  he  was  a  Waring  or  Baring,  and  had 
smitten  to  pieces  so  many  Oriental  cohorts  or  crowds,  and  had 
made  love-verses  (kind  of  iroji  madrigals)  to  his  Russian 
Princess,  and  caught  the  fancy  of  questionable  Greek  queens, 
and  had  amassed  such  heaps  of  money,  while  poor  nephew 
Magnus  had  only  one  gold  ring  (which  had  been  his  father''s, 
and  even  his  father"'s  mothers,  as  Uncle  Harald  noticed),  and 
nothing  more  whatever  of  that  precious  metal  to  combine  with 
Harald's  treasures  : — all  this  is  new  to  me,  naturally  no  hint  of 
it  in  any  English  book  ;  and  lends  some  gleam  of  romantic 
splendour  to  that  dim  business  of  Stamford  Bridge,  now  fallen 
so  dull  and  torpid  to  most  English  minds,  transcendently  im- 
portant as  it  once  was  to  all  Englishmen.      Adam  of  Bremen 


296        EARLY    KINGS    OF   NORWAY 

says,  the  English  got  as  nuich  gold  plunder  from  Harald's 
people  as  was  a  heavy  burden  for  twelve  men ;  ^  a  thing 
evidently  impossible,  which  nobody  need  try  to  believe.  Young 
Olaf,  Harald's  son,  age  about  sixteen,  steering  down  the  Ouse 
at  the  top  of  his  speed,  escaped  home  to  Norway  with  all 
his  ships,  and  subsequently  reigned  there  with  Magnus,  his 
brother.  Harald's  body  did  lie  in  English  earth  for  about 
a  year ;  but  was  then  brought  to  Norway  for  burial.  He 
needed  more  than  seven  feet  of  grave,  say  some ;  Laing, 
interpreting  Snorro's  measurements,  makes  Harald  eight  feet 
in  stature, — I  do  hope,  with  some  error  in  excess  ! 


CHAPTER    XII 

OLAF   THE    TRANQUIL,    MAGNUS    BAREFOOT,    AND 
SIGURD    THE    CRUSADER 

The  new  King  Olaf,  his  brother  Magnus  having  soon  died, 
bore  rule  in  Norway  for  some  five-and-twenty  years.  Rule 
soft  and  gentle,  not  like  his  father's,  and  inclining  rather  to 
improvement  in  the  arts  and  elegancies  than  to  anything 
severe  or  dangerously  laborious.  A  slim-built,  witty-talking, 
popular  and  pretty  man,  with  uncommonly  bright  eyes,  and 
hair  like  floss  silk  :  they  called  him  Olaf  Kyrre  (the  Tranquil 
or  Easy-going). 

The  ceremonials  of  the  palace  were  much  improved  by 
him.  Palace  still  continued  to  be  built  of  huge  logs  pyra- 
midally sloping  upwards,  with  fireplace  in  the  middle  of  the 
floor,  and  no  egress  for  smoke  or  ingress  for  light  except  right 
overhead,  which,  in  bad  weather,  you  could  shut,  or  all  but 
shut,  with  a  lid.  Lid  originally  made  of  mere  opaque  board, 
but  changed  latterly  into  a  light  frame,  covered  {glazed,  so  to 
speak)  with  entrails  of  animals,  clarified  into  something  of 
pellucidity.  All  this  Olaf,  I  hope,  further  perfected,  as  he 
did  the  placing  of  the  court  ladies,  court  officials,  and  the 
^  Camden,  Rapin,  elc.  quote. 


OLAF,    MAGNUS,    AND    SIGURD      297 

like  ;  but  I  doubt  if  the  luxury  of  a  glass  window  were  ever 
known  to  him,  or  a  cup  to  drink  from  that  was  not  made 
of  metal  or  horn.  In  fact  it  is  chiefly  for  his  son's  sake 
I  mention  him  here  ;  and  with  the  son,  too,  I  have  little  real 
concern,  but  only  a  kind  of  fantastic. 

This  son  bears  the  name  of  ]\Iagnus  Barfod  (Barefoot,  or 
Bareleg)  ;  and  if  you  ask  why  so,  the  answer  is  :  He  was  used 
to  appear  in  the  streets  of  Nidaros  (Trondhjem)  now  and  then 
in  complete  Scotch  Highland  dress.  Authentic  tartan  plaid 
and  philibeg,  at  that  epoch, — to  the  wonder  of  Trondhjem 
and  us  !  The  truth  is,  he  had  a  mighty  fancy  for  those 
Hebrides  and  other  Scotch  possessions  of  his ;  and  seeing 
England  now  quite  impossible,  eagerly  speculated  on  some 
conquest  in  Ireland  as  next  best.  He  did,  in  fact,  go  dili- 
gently voyaging  and  inspecting  among  those  Orkney  and 
Hebridian  Isles  ;  putting  everything  straight  there,  appoint- 
ing stringent  authorities,  jarls, — nay,  a  king,  'Kingdom  of  the 
Suderoer''  (Southern  Isles,  now  called  Sodor), — and,  as  first 
king,  Sigurd,  his  pretty  little  boy  of  nine  years.  All  which 
done,  and  some  quarrel  with  Sweden  fought  out,  he  seriously 
applied  himself  to  visiting  in  a  still  more  emphatic  manner ; 
namely,  to  invading,  with  his  best  skill  and  strength,  the 
considerable  virtual  or  actual  kingdom  he  had  in  Ireland, 
intending  fully  to  enlarge  it  to  the  utmost  limits  of  the 
Island  if  possible.  He  got  prosperously  into  Dublin  (guess 
A.D.  1102).  Considerable  authority  he  already  had,  even 
among  those  poor  Irish  Kings,  or  kinglets,  in  their  glibs  and 
yellow-saffron  gowns ;  still  more,  I  suppose,  among  the 
numerous  Norse  Principalities  there.  '  King  Murdog,  King 
of  Ireland,"*  says  the  Chronicle  of  Man,  '  had  obliged  himself, 
every  Yule-day,  to  take  a  pair  of  shoes,  hang  them  over  his 
shoulder,  as  your  servant  does  on  a  journey,  and  walk  across 
his  court,  at  bidding  and  in  presence  of  Magnus  Barefoot's 
messenger,  by  May  of  homage  to  the  said  King.'  Murdog  on 
this  greater  occasion  did  whatever  homage  could  be  required 


298         EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

of  him  ;  but  that,  though  comfortable,  was  far  from  satisfying 
the  great  King's  ambitious  mind.  The  great  King  left 
Murdog ;  left  his  own  Dublin  ;  marched  off  westward  on  a 
general  conquest  of  Ireland.  Marched  easily  victorious  for  a 
time  ;  and  got,  some  say,  into  the  wilds  of  Connaught,  but 
there  saw  himself  beset  by  ambuscades  and  wild  Irish  coun- 
tenances intent  on  mischief ;  and  had,  on  the  sudden,  to  draw 
up  for  battle ; — place,  I  regret  to  say,  altogether  undis- 
coverable  to  me ;  known  only  that  it  was  boggy  in  the 
extreme.  Certain  enough,  too  certain  and  evident,  Magnus 
Barefoot,  searching  eagerly,  could  find  no  firm  footing  there ; 
nor,  fighting  furiously  up  to  the  knees  or  deeper,  any  result  but 
honourable  depth  !  Date  is  confidently  marked  '  24  August 
1103, — as  if  people  knew  the  very  day  of  the  month.  The 
natives  did  humanely  give  King  Magnus  Christian  burial. 
The  remnants  of  his  force,  without  further  molestation,  found 
their  ships  on  the  Coast  of  Ulster ;  and  sailed  home, — 
without  conquest  of  Ireland ;  nay,  perhaps,  leaving  royal 
Murdog  disposed  to  be  relieved  of  his  procession  with  the 
pair  of  shoes. 

Magnus  Barefoot  left  three  sons,  all  kings  at  once,  reigning 
peaceably  together.  But  to  us,  at  present,  the  only  note- 
worthy one  of  them  was  Sigurd  ;  who,  finding  nothing  special 
to  do  at  home,  left  his  brothers  to  manage  for  him,  and  went 
off  on  a  far  Voyage,  which  has  rendered  him  distinguishable 
in  the  crowd.  Voyage  through  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar,  on 
to  Jerusalem,  thence  to  Constantinople ;  and  so  home  through 
Russia,  shining  with  such  renown  as  filled  all  Norway  for  the 
time  being.  A  King  called  Sigurd  Jorsalafarer  {Jerusalemer) 
or  Sigurd  the  Crusader  henceforth.  His  voyage  had  been 
only  partially  of  the  Viking  type ;  in  general  it  was  of  the 
Royal -Progress  kind  rather ;  Vikingism  only  intervening  in 
cases  of  incivility  or  the  like.  His  reception  in  the  Courts 
of  Portugal,  Spain,  Sicily,  Italy,  had  been  honourable  and 
sumptuous.  The  King  of  Jerusalem  broke  out  into  utmost 
splendour    and    effusion    at    sight   of  such   a   pilgrim ;    and 


OLAF,    MAGNUS,    AND    SIGURD      299 

Constantinople  did  its  highest  honours  to  such  a  Prince  of 
Vaeringers.  And  the  truth  is,  Sigurd  intrinsically  was  a 
wise,  able,  and  prudent  man ;  who,  surviving  both  his 
brothers,  reigned  a  good  while  alone  in  a  solid  and  successful 
way.  He  shows  features  of  an  original,  independent-thinking 
man  ;  something  of  ruggedly  strong,  sincere,  and  honest,  with 
peculiarities  that  are  amiable  and  even  pathetic  in  the 
character  and  temperament  of  him  ;  as  certainly,  the  course 
of  life  he  took  was  of  his  own  choosing,  and  peculiar  enough. 
He  happens  furthermore  to  be,  what  he  least  of  all  could 
have  chosen  or  expected,  the  last  of  the  Haarfagr  Genealogy 
that  had  any  success,  or  much  deserved  any,  in  this  world. 
The  last  of  the  Haarfagrs,  or  as  good  as  the  last !  So  that, 
singular  to  say,  it  is  in  reality,  for  one  thing  only  that 
Sigurd,  after  all  his  crusadings  and  wonderful  adventures,  is 
memorable  to  us  here :  the  advent  of  an  Irish  gentleman 
called  '  Gylle  Krist '  (Gil-christ,  Servant  of  Christ),  who, — 
not  over  welcome,  I  should  think,  but  (unconsciously)  big  with 
the  above  result, — appeared  in  Norway,  while  King  Sigurd 
was  supreme.      Let  us  explain  a  little. 

This  Gylle  Krist,  the  unconsciously  fatal  individual,  who 
'  spoke  Norse  imperfectly,'  declared  himself  to  be  the  natural 
son  of  whilom  Magnus  Barefoot ;  born  to  him  there  while 
engaged  in  that  unfortunate  'Conquest  of  Ireland.'  "Here 
is  my  mother  come  with  me,"  said  Gilchrist,  "  who  declares 
my  real  baptismal  name  to  have  been  Harald,  given  me  by 
that  great  King ;  and  who  will  carry  the  red-hot  plough- 
shares or  do  any  reasonable  ordeal  in  testimony  of  these 
facts.  I  am  King  Sigurd's  veritable  half-brother :  what 
will  King  Sigurd  think  it  fair  to  do  with  me  ? "  Sigurd 
clearly  seems  to  have  believed  the  man  to  be  speaking  truth ; 
and  indeed  nobody  to  have  doubted  but  he  was.  Sigurd 
said,  "  Honourable  sustenance  shalt  thou  have  from  me  here. 
But,  under  pain  of  extirpation,  swear  that,  neither  in  my 
time,  nor  in  that  of  my  young  son  Magnus,  wilt  thou  ever 
claim  any  share   in    this   Government."       Gylle   swore ;    and 


300         EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

punctually  kept  his  promise  during  Sigurd's  reign.  But 
during  Magnus's,  he  conspicuously  broke  it ;  and,  in  result, 
through  many  reigns,  and  during  three  or  four  generations 
afterwards,  produced  unspeakable  contentions,  massacrings, 
confusions  in  the  country  he  had  adopted.  There  are 
reckoned,  from  the  time  of  Sigurd's  death  (a.d.  1130),  about 
a  hundred  years  of  civil  war :  no  king  allowed  to  distinguish 
himself  by  a  solid  reign  of  well-doing,  or  by  any  continuing 
reign  at  all, — sometimes  as  many  as  four  kings  simultaneously 
fighting ; — and  in  Norway,  from  sire  to  son,  nothing  but 
sanguinary  anarchy,  disaster  and  bewilderment ;  a  Country 
sinking  steadily  as  if  towards  absolute  ruin.  Of  all  which 
frightful  misery  and  discord  Irish  Gylle,  styled  afterwards 
King  Harald  Gylle,  was,  by  ill  destiny  and  otherwise,  the 
visible  origin  :  an  illegitimate  Irish  Haarfagr  who  proved  to 
be  his  own  destruction,  and  that  of  the  Haarfagr  kindred 
altogether ! 

Sigurd  himself  seems  always  to  have  rather  favoured  Gylle, 
who  was  a  cheerful,  shrewd,  patient,  witty  and  effective 
fellow ;  and  had  at  first  much  quizzing  to  endure,  from  the 
younger  kind,  on  account  of  his  Irish  way  of  speaking  Norse, 
and  for  other  reasons.  One  evening,  for  example,  while  the 
drink  was  going  round,  Gylle  mentioned  that  the  Irish  had  a 
wonderful  talent  of  swift  running,  and  that  there  were  among 
them  people  who  could  keep  up  with  the  swiftest  horse.  At 
which,  especially  from  young  Magnus,  there  Avere  peals  of 
laughter ;  and  a  declaration  from  the  latter  that  Gylle  and 
he  would  have  it  tried  tomorrow  morning !  Gylle  in  vain 
urged  that  he  had  not  himself  professed  to  be  so  swift  a 
runner  as  to  keep  up  with  the  Prince's  horses ;  but  only  that 
there  were  men  in  Ireland  who  could.  Magnus  was  positive ; 
and,  early  next  morning,  Gylle  had  to  be  on  the  ground  ;  and 
the  race,  naturally  under  heavy  bet,  actually  went  off.  Gylle 
started  parallel  to  Magnus's  stirrup  ;  ran  like  a  very  roe,  and 
was    clearly   ahead   at   the   goal.       "  Unfair,"    said  Magnus ; 


MAGNUS    THE    BLIND,   ETC.  301 

"  thou  must  have  had  hold  of  my  stirrup-leather,  and  helped 
thyself  along ;  we  must  try  it  again."  Gylle  ran  behind  the 
horse  this  second  time ;  then  at  the  end,  sprang  forward ; 
and  again  was  fairly  in  ahead.  "  Thou  must  have  held  by 
the  tail,"  said  Magnus ;  "  not  by  fair  running  was  this 
possible  ;  we  must  try  a  third  time  !  "  Gylle  started  ahead  of 
Magnus  and  his  horse,  this  third  time ;  kept  ahead  with 
increasing  distance,  Magnus  galloping  his  very  best ;  and 
reached  the  goal  more  palpably  foremost  than  ever.  So  that 
Magnus  had  to  pay  his  bet,  and  other  damage  and  humilia- 
tion. And  got  from  his  father,  who  heard  of  it  soon  after- 
wards, scoffing  rebuke  as  a  silly  fellow,  who  did  not  know  the 
worth  of  men,  but  only  the  clothes  and  rank  of  them,  and 
well  deserved  what  he  had  got  from  Gylle.  All  the  time 
King  Sigurd  lived,  Gylle  seems  to  have  had  good  recognition 
and  protection  from  that  famous  man ;  and,  indeed,  to  have 
gained  favour  all  round,  by  his  quiet  social  demeanour  and 
the  qualities  he  showed. 


CHAPTER    XIII 

MAGNUS    THE    BLIND,    HARALD    GYLLE,    AND    MUTUAL 
EXTINCTION    OF    THE    HAARFAGRS 

On  Sigurd  the  Crusader's  death,  Magnus  naturally  came 
to  the  throne ;  Gylle  keeping  silence  and  a  cheerful  face  for 
the  time.  But  it  was  not  long  till  claim  arose  on  Gylle's 
part,  till  war  and  fight  arose  between  Magnus  and  him,  till 
the  skilful,  popular,  ever-active  and  shifty  Gylle  had  entirely 
beaten  Magnus ;  put  out  his  eyes  ;  mutilated  the  poor  body 
of  him  in  a  horrid  and  unnameable  manner,  and  shut  him  up 
in  a  convent  as  out  of  the  game  henceforth.  There  in  his 
dark  misery  Magnus  lived  now  as  a  monk  ;  called  '  Magnus 
the  Blind '  by  those  Norse  populations ;  King  Harold  Gylle 
reigning  victoriously  in  his  stead.  But  this  also  was  only  for 
a  time.      There  arose  avenging  kinsfolk  of  Magnus,  who  had 


802         EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

no  Irish  accent  in  their  Norse,  and  were  themselves  eager 
enough  to  bear  rule  in  their  native  country.  By  one  of 
these, — a  terribly  strong-handed,  fighting,  violent,  and  regard- 
less fellow,  Avho  also  was  a  Bastard  of  Magnus  Barefoofs,  and 
had  been  made  a  Priest,  but  liked  it  unbearably  ill,  and  had 
broken  loose  from  it  into  the  wildest  courses  at  home  and 
abroad ;  so  that  his  current  name  got  to  be  '  Slembi-diakn,' 
Slim  or  111  Deacon,  under  which  he  is  much  noised  of  in 
Snorro  and  the  Sagas  :  by  this  Slim-Deacon,  Gylle  was  put 
an  end  to  (murdered  by  night,  drunk  in  his  sleep) ;  and  poor 
blind  Magnus  was  brought  out,  and  again  set  to  act  as  King, 
or  King's  cloak,  in  hopes  Gylle's  posterity  would  never  rise  to 
victory  more.  But  Gylle's  posterity  did,  to  victory  and  also 
to  defeat,  and  were  the  death  of  Magnus  and  of  Slim-Deacon 
too,  in  a  frightful  way ;  and  all  got  their  own  death  by  and 
by  in  a  ditto.  In  brief,  these  two  kindreds  (reckoned  to  be 
authentic  enough  Haarfagr  people,  both  kinds  of  them)  proved 
now  to  have  become  a  veritable  crop  of  dragon's  teeth ;  who 
mutually  fought,  plotted,  struggled,  as  if  it  had  been  their 
life's  business  ;  never  ended  fighting,  and  seldom  long  inter- 
mitted it,  till  they  had  exterminated  one  another,  and  did  at 
last  all  rest  in  death.  One  of  these  later  Gylle  temporary 
Kings  I  remember  by  the  name  of  Harald  Herdebred,  Harald 
of  the  Broad  Shoulders.  The  very  last  of  them  I  think  was 
Harald  Mund  (Harald  of  the  Wry-Mouth),  who  gave  rise  to 
two  Impostors,  pretending  to  be  Sons  of  his,  a  good  while 
after  the  poor  Wry-Mouth  itself  and  all  its  troublesome 
belongings  were  quietly  under  ground.  What  Norway  suffered 
during  that  sad  century  may  be  imagined. 


CHAPTER    XIV 

SVEllRIll    AND    DESCENDANTS,    TO    HAKON    THE    OLD 

The  end  of  it  was,  or  rather  the  first  abatement,  and  he- 
ginning  of  the  end.  That,  when  all  this  had  gone  on  ever 


SVERRIR    AND    DESCENDANTS      303 

worsening  for  some  forty  years  or  so,  one  Sverrir  (a.d.  1177), 
at  the  head  of  an  armed  mob  of  poor  people  called  Birkeheins, 
came  upon  the  scene.  A  strange  enough  figure  in  History, 
this  Sverrir  and  his  Birkebeins  !  At  first  a  mere  mockery  and 
dismal  laughing-stock  to  the  enlightened  Norway  public. 
Nevertheless  by  unheard-of  fighting,  hungering,  exertion,  and 
endurance,  Sverrir,  after  ten  years  of  such  a  death-wrestle 
against  men  and  things,  got  himself  accepted  as  King ;  and 
by  wonderful  expenditure  of  ingenuity,  common  cunning, 
unctuous  Parliamentary  Eloquence  or  almost  Popular  Preach- 
ing, and  (it  must  be  owned)  general  human  faculty  and 
valour  (or  value)  in  the  overclouded  and  distorted  state,  did 
victoriously  continue  such.  And  founded  a  new  Dynasty  in 
Norway,  which  ended  only  with  Norway's  separate  existence, 
after  near  three  hundred  years. 

This  Sverrir  called  himself  a  Son  of  Harald  Wry-Mouth ; 
but  was  in  reality  the  son  of  a  poor  Comb-maker  in  some 
little  town  of  Norway  ;  nothing  heard  of  Sonship  to  Wry- 
Mouth  till  after  good  success  otherwise.  His  Birkebeins  (that 
is  to  say,  B'lrchlegs  ;  the  poor  rebellious  wretches  having  taken 
to  the  woods;  and  been  obHged,  besides  their  intolerable 
scarcity  of  food,  to  thatch  their  bodies  from  the  cold  with 
whatever  covering  could  be  got  and  their  legs  especially  with 
birch  bark  ;  sad  species  of  fleecy  hosiery ;  whence  their  nick- 
name),— his  Birkebeins  I  guess  always  to  have  been  a  kind  of 
Norse  Jacquerie :  desperate  rising  of  thralls  and  indigent 
people,  driven  mad  by  their  unendurable  sufferings  and  famish- 
ings, — theirs  the  deepest  stratum  of  misery,  and  the  densest 
and  heaviest,  in  this  the  general  misery  of  Norway,  which  had 
lasted  towards  the  third  generation  and  looked  as  if  it  would 
last  forever  : — whereupon  they  had  risen  proclaiming,  in  this 
furious  dumb  manner,  unintelligible  except  to  Heaven,  that 
the  same  could  not,  nor  would  not,  be  endured  any  longer  ! 
And,  by  their  Sverrir,  strange  to  say,  they  did  attain  a  kind 
of  permanent  success ;  and,  from  being  a  dismal  laughing- 
stock  in  Norway,  came  to  be  important,  and  for  a  time  all- 


S04        EAllLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

important  there.  Their  opposition  nicknames,  '  Bogiers  (from 
Bagall,  bandus,  bishop's  staff;  Bishop  Nicholas  being  chief 
Leader),'  '  Gold-legs,''  and  the  hke  obscure  terms  (for  there 
was  still  a  considerable  course  of  counter-fighting  ahead,  and 
especially  of  counter-nicknaming),  I  take  to  have  meant  in 
Norse  prefigurement  seven  centuries  ago,  '  bloated  Aristocracy,' 
'  tyrannous  Bourgeoisie,'' — till,  in  the  next  century,  these  rents 
were  closed  again  ! — 

King  Sverrir,  not  himself  bred  to  comb-making,  had,  in 
nis  fifth  year,  gone  to  an  uncle,  Bishop  in  the  Faroe  Islands ; 
and  got  some  considerable  education  from  him,  with  a  view 
to  Priesthood  on  the  part  of  Sverrir.  But,  not  liking  that 
career,  Sverrir  had  fled  and  smuggled  himself  over  to  the 
Birkebeins ;  who,  noticing  the  learned  tongue,  and  other 
miraculous  qualities  of  the  man,  proposed  to  make  him 
Captain  of  them  ;  and  even  threatened  to  kill  him  if  he 
would  not  accept, — which  thus  at  the  sword's  point,  as  Sverrir 
says,  he  was  obliged  to  do.  It  was  after  this  that  he  thought 
of  becoming  son  of  Wry-Mouth  and  other  higher  things. 

His  Birkebeins  and  he  had  certainly  a  talent  of  campaign- 
ing which  has  hardly  ever  been  equalled.  They  fought  like 
devils  against  any  odds  of  number ;  and  before  battle  they 
have  been  known  to  march  six  days  together  without  food, 
except,  perhaps,  the  inner  barks  of  trees,  and  in  such  clothing 
and  shoeing  as  mere  birch  bark  : — at  one  time,  somewhere  in 
the  Dovrefjeld,  there  was  serious  counsel  held  among  them 
whether  they  should  not  all,  as  one  man,  leap  down  into  the 
frozen  gulfs  and  precipices,  or  at  once  massacre  one  another 
wholly,  and  so  finish.  Of  their  conduct  in  battle,  fiei-cer  than 
that  of  Baresarks,  where  was  there  ever  seen  the  parallel  ? 
In  truth  they  are  a  dim  strange  object  to  one,  in  that  black 
time  ;  wondrouslv  bringing  light  into  it  withal ;  and  proved 
to  be,  under  such  unexpected  circumstances,  the  beginning  of 
better  days  ! 

Of  Sverrirs  public  speeches  there  still  exist  authentic 
specimens  ;   wonderful  indeed,  and  much  characteristic  of  such 


HAKON  THE  OLD  AT  LARGS   305 

a  Sverrir.  A  comb-maker  King,  evidently  meaning  several 
good  and  solid  things  ;  and  effecting  them  too,  athwart  such 
an  element  of  Norwegian  chaos-come-again.  His  descendants 
and  successors  were  a  comparatively  respectable  kin.  The 
last  and  greatest  of  them  I  shall  mention  is  Hakon  vii.,  or 
Hakon  the  Old  ;  whose  fame  is  still  lively  among  us,  from 
the  Battle  of  Largs  at  least. 


CHAPTER    XV 

HAKON    THE    OLD    AT    I.ARGS 

In  the  Norse  annals  our  famous  Battle  of  Largs  makes 
small  figure,  or  almost  none  at  all  among  Hakon's  battles  and 
feats.  They  do  say  indeed,  these  Norse  annalists,  that  the 
King  of  Scotland,  Alexander  III.  (who  had  such  a  fate  among 
the  crags  about  Kinghorn  in  time  coming),  was  very  anxious 
to  purchase  from  King  Hakon  his  sovereignty  of  the  Western 
Isles ;  but  that  Hakon  pointedly  refused ;  and  at  length, 
being  again  importuned  and  bothered  on  the  business,  decided 
on  giving  a  refusal  that  could  not  be  mistaken.  Decided, 
namely,  to  go  with  a  big  expedition,  and  look  thoroughly 
into  that  wing-  of  his  Dominions ;  where  no  doubt  much  has 
fallen  awry  since  Magnus  Barefoot's  grand  visit  thither,  and 
seems  to  be  inviting  the  cupidity  of  bad  neighbours  !  '  All 
this  we  will  put  right  again,'  thinks  Hakon,  '  and  gird  it  up 
into  a  safe  and  defensive  posture.'  Hakon  sailed  accordingly, 
with  a  strong  fleet ;  adjusting  and  rectifying  among  his 
Hebrides  as  he  went  along,  and  landing  withal  on  the  Scotch 
coast  to  plunder  and  punish  as  he  thought  fit.  The  Scots 
say  he  had  claimed  of  them  Arran,  Bute,  and  the  Two 
Cumbraes  ("  given  my  ancestors  by  Donald  Bain,"  said  Hakon, 
to  the  amazement  of  the  Scots)  "  as  part  of  the  Sudoer " 
(Southern  Isles)  : — so  far  from  selling  that  fine  kingdom  ! — 
and  that  it  was  after  taking  both  Arran  and  Bute  that  he 
made  his  descent  at  Largs. 

VOL.  v.  u 


S06        EARLY    KINGS    OF   NORWAY 

Of  Largs  there  is  no  mention  whatever  in  Norse  books. 
But  beyond  any  doubt,  such  is  the  other  evidence,  Hakon  did 
land  there ;  land  and  fight,  not  conquering,  probably  rather 
beaten  ;  and  very  certainly  '  retiring  to  his  ships,'  as  in  either 
case  he  behoved  to  do  !  It  is  further  certain  he  was  dread- 
fully maltreated  by  the  weather  on  those  wild  coasts ;  and 
altogether  credible,  as  the  Scotch  records  bear,  that  he  was  so 
at  Largs  very  specially.  The  Norse  Records  or  Sagas  say 
merely,  he  lost  many  of  his  ships  by  the  tempests,  and  many 
of  his  men  by  land  fighting  in  various  parts, — tacitly  includ- 
ing Largs,  no  doubt,  which  was  the  last  of  these  misfortunes 
to  him.  'In  the  battle  here  he  lost  15,000  men,  say  the 
Scots,  we  5,000' !  Divide  these  numbers  by  ten,  and  the 
excellently  brief  and  lucid  Scottish  summary  by  Buchanan 
may  be  taken  as  the  approximately  true  and  exact.^  Date  of 
the  battle  is  a.d.  1263. 

To  this  day,  on  a  little  plain  to  the  south  of  the  village, 
now  town,  of  Largs,  in  Ayrshire,  there  are  seen  stone  cairns 
and  monumental  heaps,  and,  until  within  a  century  ago,  one 
huge,  solitary,  upright  stone  ;  still  mutely  testifying  to  a 
battle  there,  —  altogether  clearly,  to  this  battle  of  King 
Hakon's  ;  who  by  the  Norse  records,  too,  was  in  these  neigh- 
bourhoods at  that  same  date,  and  evidently  in  an  aggressive, 
high  kind  of  humour.  For  '  while  his  ships  and  army  were 
doubling  the  Mull  of  Cantire,  he  had  his  own  boat  set  on 
wheels,  and  therein,  sj)lendidly  enough,  had  himself  drawn 
across  the  Promontory  at  a  flatter  part,'  no  doubt  with  horns 
sounding,  banners  waving.  "  All  to  the  left  of  me  is  mine  and 
Norway's,"  exclaimed  Hakon  in  his  triumphant  boat  progress, 
which  such  disasters  soon  followed. 

Hakon  gathered  his  wrecks  together,  and  sorrowfully  made 
for  Orkney.  It  is  possible  enough,  as  our  Guide  Books  now 
say,  he  may  have  gone  by  lona,  Mull,  and  the  narrow  seas 
inside  of  Skye  ;  and  that  the  Kyle- Akin,  favourably  known  to 
sea-bathers  in  that  region,  may  actually  mean  the  Kyle  (narrow 
^  Bzichanani  Hist,  i,  130. 


EPILOGUE  307 

strait)  of  Hakon,  where  Hakon  may  have  dropped  anchor,  and 
rested  for  a  little  while  in  smooth  water  and  beautiful  environ- 
ment, safe  from  equinoctial  storms.  But  poor  Hakon"'s  heart 
was  now  broken.  He  went  to  Orkney ;  died  there  in  the 
winter  ;   never  beholding  Norway  more. 

He  it  was  who  got  Iceland,  which  had  been  a  Republic  for 
four  centuries,  united  to  his  kingdom  of  Norway  :  a  long  and 
intricate  operation, — much  presided  over  by  our  Snorro  Sturle- 
son,  so  often  quoted  here,  who  indeed  lost  his  life  (by  assas- 
sination from  his  sons-in-law)  and  out  of  great  wealth  sank  at 
once  into  poverty  of  zero, — one  midnight  in  his  own  cellar,  in 
the  course  of  that  bad  business.  Hakon  was  a  great  Politician 
in  his  time ;  and  succeeded  in  many  things  before  he  lost 
Largs.  Snorro's  death  by  murder  had  happened  about  twenty 
years  before  Hakon's  by  broken  heart.  He  is  called  Hakon 
the  Old,  though  one  finds  his  age  was  but  fifty-nine,  probably 
a  longish  life  for  a  Norway  King.  Snorro's  narrative  ceases 
when  Snorro  himself  was  born ;  that  is  to  say,  at  the  threshold 
of  King  Sverrir ;  of  whose  exploits  and  doubtful  birth  it  is 
guessed  by  some  that  Snorro  willingly  forbore  to  speak  in  the 
hearing  of  such  a  Hakon. 


CHAPTER    XVI 

EPILOGUE 

Haarfagr's  kindred  lasted  some  three  centuries  in  Norway  ; 
Sverrir's  lasted  into  its  third  century  there ;  how  long  after 
this,  among  the  neighbouring  kinships,  I  did  not  inquire.  For, 
by  regal  affinities,  consanguinities,  and  unexpected  chances  and 
changes,  the  three  Scandinavian  kingdoms  fell  all  peaceably 
together  under  Queen  Margaret,  of  the  Calmar  Union  (a.d. 
1397);  and  Norway,  incorporated  now  with  Denmark,  needed 
no  more  kings. 

The  History  of  these  Haarfagrs  has  awakened  in  me  many 


308         EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

thoughts  :  Of  Despotism  and  Democracy,  ai'bitrary  govern- 
ment by  one  and  self-government  (which  means  no  govern- 
ment, or  anarchy)  by  all ;  of  Dictatorship  with  many  faults, 
and  Universal  Suffrage  with  little  possibility  of  any  virtue. 
For  the  contrast  between  Olaf  Tryggveson  and  a  Universal- 
Suffrage  Parliament  or  an  '  Imperial '  Copper  Captain  has,  in 
these  nine  centuries,  grown  to  be  very  great.  And  the  eternal 
Providence  that  guides  all  this,  and  produces  alike  these 
entities  with  their  epochs,  is  not  its  course  still  through  the 
great  deep  ?  Does  not  it  still  speak  to  us,  if  we  have  ears  ? 
Here,  clothed  in  stormy  enough  passions  and  instincts,  un- 
conscious of  any  aim  but  their  own  satisfaction,  is  the  blessed 
beginning  of  Human  Order,  Regulation,  and  real  Government; 
there,  clothed  in  a  highly  different,  but  again  suitable  garni- 
ture of  passions,  instincts,  and  equally  unconscious  as  to  real 
aim,  is  the  accursed  -  looking  ending  (temporary  ending)  of 
Order,  Regulation,  and  Government ; — very  dismal  to  the 
sane  onlooker  for  the  time  being ;  not  dismal  to  him  other- 
wise, his  hope,  too,  being  steadfast !  But  here,  at  any  rate, 
in  this  poor  Norse  theatre,  one  looks  with  interest  on  the 
first  transformation,  so  mysterious  and  abstruse,  of  human 
Chaos  into  something  of  articulate  Cosmos ;  witnesses  the 
wild  and  strange  birth-pangs  of  human  Society,  and  reflects 
that  without  something  similar  (little  as  men  expect  such 
now),  no  Cosmos  of  human  society  ever  was  got  into  exist- 
ence, nor  can  ever  again  be. 

The  violences,  fightings,  crimes — ah  yes,  these  seldom  fail, 
and  they  are  very  lamentable.  But  always,  too,  among  those 
old  populations,  there  was  one  saving  element  ;  the  now 
want  of  which,  especially  the  unlamented  want,  transcends  all 
lamentations.  Here  is  one  of  those  strange,  piercing,  winged- 
words  of  Ruskin,  which  has  in  it  a  terrible  truth  for  us  in 
these  epochs  now  come  : 

'  My  friends,  the  follies  of  modern  Liberalism,  many  and 
great  though  they  be,  are  practically  summed  in  this  denial 
or  neglect  of  the  quality  and  intrinsic  value  of  things.      Its 


EPILOGUE  309 

rectangular  beatitudes,  and  spherical  benevolences, — theology 
of  universal  indulgence,  and  jurisprudence  which  will  hang 
no  rogues,  mean,  one  and  all  of  them,  in  the  root,  incapacity 
of  discerning,  or  refusal  to  discern,  worth  and  unworth  in 
anything,  and  least  of  all  in  man ;  whereas  Nature  and 
Heaven  command  you,  at  your  peril,  to  discern  worth  from 
unworth  in  everything,  and  most  of  all  in  man.  Your  main 
problem  is  that  ancient  and  trite  one,  "  Who  is  best  man  ? "" 
and  the  Fates  forgive  much, — forgive  the  wildest,  fiercest, 
crudest  experiments, — if  fairly  made  for  the  determination 
of  that.  Theft  and  bloodguiltiness  are  not  pleasing  in  their 
sight ;  yet  the  favouring  powers  of  the  spiritual  and  material 
world  will  confirm  to  you  your  stolen  goods,  and  their  noblest 
voices  applaud  the  lifting  of  your  spear,  and  rehearse  the 
sculpture  of  your  shield,  if  only  your  robbing  and  slaying 
have  been  in  fair  arbitrament  of  that  question,  "  Who  is 
best  man  ? "  But  if  you  refuse  such  inquiry,  and  maintain 
every  man  for  his  neighbour's  match, — if  you  give  vote  to 
the  simple  and  liberty  to  the  vile,  the  powers  of  those 
spiritual  aud  material  worlds  in  due  time  present  you  in- 
evitably with  the  same  problem,  soluble  now  only  wrong  side 
upwards ;  and  your  robbing  and  slaying  must  be  done  then 
to  find  out,  "  Who  is  zvorst  man  ?  "  Which,  in  so  wide  an 
order  of  merit,  is,  indeed,  not  easy ;  but  a  complete  Tammany 
Ring,  and  lowest  circle  in  the  Inferno  of  Worst,  you  are  sure 
to  find,  and  to  be  governed  by.'  ^ 

All  readers  will  admit  that  there  was  something  naturally 
royal  in  these  Haarfagr  Kings.  A  wildly  great  kind  of 
kindred ;  counts  in  it  two  Heroes  of  a  high  or  almost  highest, 
type  :  the  first  two  Olafs,  Tryggveson  and  the  Saint.  And 
the  view  of  them,  withal,  as  we  chance  to  have  it,  I  have 
often  thought,  how  essentially  Homeric  it  was ; — indeed  what 
is  '  Homer '  himself  but  the  Rhapsody  of  five  centuries  of 
Greek  Skalds  and  wandering  Ballad-singers,  done  {i.e.  '  stitched 
^  Fors  Clavjgera,  Letter  xiv.  pp.  S-io. 


810        EARLY    KINGS    OF    NORWAY 

together')  by  somebody  more  musical  than  Snorro  was  ?  Olaf 
Tryggveson  and  Olaf  Saint  please  me  quite  as  well  in  their 
prosaic  form  ;  offering  me  the  truth  of  them  as  if  seen  in 
their  real  lineaments  by  some  marvellous  opening  (through 
the  art  of  Snorro)  across  the  black  strata  of  the  ages.  Two 
high,  almost  among  the  highest  sons  of  Nature,  seen  as  they 
veritably  were;  fairly  comparable  or  superior  to  god -like 
Achilleus,  goddess-wounding  Diomedes,  much  more  to  the  two 
Atreidai,  Regulators  of  the  Peoples. 

I  have  also  thought  often  what  a  Book  might  be  made  of 
Snorro,  did  there  but  arise  a  man  furnished  with  due  literary 
insight,  and  indefatigable  diligence ;  who,  faithfully  acquaint- 
ing himself  with  the  topography,  the  monumental  relics  and 
illustrative  actualities  of  Norway,  carefully  scanning  the  best 
testimonies  as  to  place  and  time  which  that  country  can  still 
give  him,  carefully  the  best  collateral  records  and  chronologies 
of  other  countries,  and  who,  himself  possessing  the  highest 
faculty  of  a  Poet,  could,  abridging,  arranging,  elucidating, 
reduce  Snorro  to  a  polished  Cosmic  state,  unweariedly  purging 
away  his  much  chaotic  matter  !  A  modern  '  highest  kind  of 
Poet,'  capable  of  unlimited  slavish  labour  withal ; — who,  1 
fear,  is  not  soon  to  be  expected  in  this  w^orld,  or  likely  to 
find  his  task  in  the  HeimsT\:ringia  if  he  did  appear  here. 


THE   PORTRAITS    OF   JOHN   KNOX 


JOHN  KNOX 

THE   SOMERVILLE   PORTRAIT,   ENGRAVED   BY   HOLL,   1636 


THE   PORTRAITS   OF   JOHN   KNOX 


Theodore  Beza,  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1580,  published 
at  Geneva  a  well-printed,  clearly  expressed,  and  on  the  whole 
considerate  and  honest  little  volume,  in  the  Latin  tongue, 
purporting  to  be  '  Icones,  that  is  to  say,  true  Portraits,  of 
men  illustrious  in  the  Reformation  of  Religion  and  Restora- 
tion of  Learning':^  Volume  of  perhaps  250  pages,  but  in 
fact  not  numerically  paged  at  all,  which  is  sometimes  described 
as  4to,  but  is  in  reality  8vo  rather,  though  expanded  by  the 
ample  margin  into  something  of  a  square  form.  It  is  dedicated 
to  King  James  vi.  of  Scotland  ;  then  a  small  rather  watery 
boy  hardly-yet  fourteen,  but  the  chief  Protestant  King  then 
extant ;  the  first  Icon  of  all  being  that  of  James  himself. 
The  Dedication  has  nothing  the  least  of  fulsome  or  even 
panegyrical ;  and  is  in  fact  not  so  much  a  Dedication  as  a 
longish  preface,  explanatory  of  Beza's  impulse  towards  publish- 
ing such  a  book,  namely,  the  delight  he  himself  has  in  con- 
templating the  face  of  any  heroic  friend  of  Letters  and  of 
true  Religion  ;  and  defending  himself  withal,  to  us  super- 
fluously enough,  against  any  imputation  of  idolatry  or  image- 
worship,  which  scrupulous  critics  might  cast  upon  him,  since 
surely  painting  and  engraving  are  permissible  to  mankind  ; 
and   that,  for  the  rest,  these  Icons  are  by  no  means  to  be 

^  Icones,  id  est  Verce  Imagines,  Viroruin  doctrina  siniul  et  pietate  illustrittm, 
quorum  pracipue  rninisterio  partini  bonanim  Literariim  studia  sunt  restituta, 
partim  vera  Keligio  in  variis  Orbis  Christiani  regionibus,  nostra  patrumqite 
memoridfuit  instaurata  :  addilis  eorundem  vitce  of  opercz  descriptionibus,  quibus 
adiecta  sunt  nonnullce  picturie  quas  Eniblemata  vacant.  Theodora  Bezd  Aucto7-e. 
—  Geneva.    Apud  Joannem  Laoniiim.     M.D.LXXX. 


314      THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX 

introduced  into  God's  House,  but  kept  as  private  furniture  in 
your  own.  The  only  praise  he  bestows  on  James  is  the 
indisputable  one  that  he  is  head  of  a  most  Protestant  nation  ; 
that  he  is  known  to  have  fine  and  most  promising  faculties ; 
which  may  God  bring  to  perfection,  to  the  benefit  of  his  own 
and  many  nations ;  of  which  there  is  the  better  hope,  as  he 
is  in  the  mean  while  under  the  tuition  of  two  superlative  men, 
Dominus  Georgius  Buchananus,  the  J^acile  pj-'mceps  in  various 
literary  respects,  and  Dominus  Petrus  Junius  (or  Jonck,  as  it 
is  elsewhere  called,  meaning  '  Young "'),  also  a  man  of  dis- 
tinguished merit. 

The  Royal  Icon,  which  stands  on  the  outside,  and  precedes 
the  Dedication,  is  naturally  the  first  of  all :  fit  ornament  to 
the  vestibule  of  the  whole  work — a  half-ridiculous  half-pathetic 
protecting  genius,  of  whom  this  (opposite)  is  the  exact  figure. 

Some  Four  Score  other  personages  follow  ;  of  personages 
four  score,  but  of  Icons  only  Thirty-eight ;  Beza,  who  clearly 
had  a  proper  wish  to  secure  true  portraits,  not  having  at  his 
command  any  further  supply ;  so  that  in  forty-three  cases 
there  is  a  mere  frame  of  a  woodcut,  with  nothing  but  the 
name  of  the  individual  who  should  have  filled  it,  given. 

A  certain  French  translator  of  the  Book,  who  made  his 
appearance  next  year,  Simon  Goulart,  a  French  friend,  fellow 
preacher,  and  distinguished  co-presbyter  of  Beza's,  of  whom 
there  will  be  much  farther  mention  soon,  seems  to  have  been 
better  supplied  than  Beza  with  engravings.  He  has  added 
from  his  own  resources  Eleven  new  Icons  ;  many  of  them 
better  than  the  average  of  Beza's,  and  of  special  importance 
some  of  them  ;  for  example  that  of  Wickliffe,  the  deep-lying 
tap-root  of  the  whole  tree ;  to  want  whose  portrait  and  have 
nothing  but  a  name  to  offer  was  surely  a  want  indeed. 
Goulart"s  Wickliffe  gratifies  one  not  a  little ;  and  to  the 
open-minded  reader  who  has  any  turn  for  physiognomic 
inquiries  is  very  interesting ;  a  most  substantial  and  effective- 
looking  man  ;  easily  conceivable  as  Wickliffe,  though,  as  in 
my  own  case,  one  never  saw  a  portrait  of  him  before ;  a  solid, 


THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX      315 

broad -browed,  massive -headed  man  ;  strong  nose,  slightly 
aquiline,  beard  of  practical  length  and  opulent  growth ; 
evidently  a  thoughtful,  cheerful,  faithful  and  resolute  man  ; 
to  whom  indeed  a  very  great  work  was  appointed  in  this 
world ;   that  of  inaugurating  the  new  Reformation  and  new 


epoch  in  Europe,  with  results  that  have  been  immense,  not 
yet  completed  but  expanding  in  our  own  day  with  an  astonish- 
ing, almost  alarming  swiftness  of  development.  This  is  among 
the  shortest  of  all  the  Icon  articles  or  written  commentaries 
in  Beza's  Work.  We  translate  it  entire,  as  a  specimen  of 
Beza's  well-meant,  but  too    often  vague,  and    mostly  inane 


316      THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX 

performance  in  these  enterprises  ;  which  to  the  most  zealous 
reader  of  his  own  time  could  leave  so  little  of  distinct  inform- 
ation, and  to  most  readers  of  our  own,  none  at  all ;  the  result 
little  more  than  interjectional,  a  pious  emotion  towards  Heaven 
and  the  individual  mentioned  ;  result  very  vague  indeed. 

WicMiffe. — '  Let  this,  England,  be  thy  greatest  honour 
forever  that  thou  didst  produce  John  Wickliffe  (albeit  thou 
hast  since  somewhat  stained  that  honour)  ;  the  first  after  so 
many  years  that  dared  to  declare  Avar  against  the  Roman 
Harlot,  who  audaciously  mocked  the  Kings  of  Europe,  intoxi- 
cated with  her  strong  drink.  This  effort  was  so  successful 
that  ever  since  that  Wicked  One  has  been  mortally  wounded 
by  the  blow  which  Wickliife  by  the  sword  of  the  Word  of 
God  dealt  to  her.  And  although  for  a  time  the  wound 
appeared  to  be  closed,  since  then  it  has  always  burst  open 
again  ;  and  finally,  by  the  grace  of  God,  remains  incurable. 
Nothing  was  wanting  to  thee,  excellent  champion,  except  the 
martyr's  crown  ;  which  not  being  able  to  obtain  in  thy  life, 
thou  didst  receive  forty  years  after  thy  death,  when  thy  bones 
were  burnt  to  powder  by  Antichrist ;  who  by  that  single  act 
of  wickedness  has  forever  branded  himself  with  the  stamp  of 
cruelty,  and  has  acquired  for  thee  a  glory  so  much  the  more 
splendid. 

'John  Wickliffe  flourished  in  the  year  1372.  He  died  after 
diverse  combats,  in  the  year  1387.  His  bones  were  burnt  at 
Oxford  in  the  year  1410.'' 

No,  not  at  Oxford,  but  at  Lutterworth  in  Leicestershire,  as 
old  Fuller  memorably  tells  us  :  '  Such  the  spleen  of  the  Council 
of  Constance,'  says  he,  '  they  not  only  cursed  his  memory,  as 
dying  an  obstinate  heretic,  but  ordered  that  his  bones  (with 
this  charitable  caution,  "  if  it,"  the  body,  "  may  be  discerned 
from  the  bodies  of  other  faithful  people"),  be  taken  out  of 
the  ground  and  thrown  far  off  from  any  Christian  burial. 
In  obedience  hereunto,  Richard  Fleming,  Bishop  of  Lincoln, 
Diocesan   of  Lutterworth,  sent  his  officers  (vultures  with   a 


THE    PORTRAITS    OF   JOHN    KNOX      317 

quick-sight  scent  at  a  dead  carcase)  to  ungrave  him  accord- 
ingly. To  Lutterworth  they  come,  Sumner  Commissary 
Official,  Chancellor,  Proctors,  Doctors,  and  the  servants  (so 
that  the  remnant  of  the  body  would  not  hold  out  a  bone 
against  so  many  hands),  take  what  was  left  out  of  the  grave 
and  burnt  them  to  ashes,  and  cast  them  into  Swift,  a  neigh- 
bouring brook  running  hard  by.  Thus  this  brook  hath  con- 
veyed his  ashes  into  Avon,  Avon  into  Severn,  Severn  into  the 
narrow  seas,  and  they  into  the  main  Ocean.  And  thus  the 
ashes  of  WicklifFe  are  the  emblem  of  his  doctrine,  which  now 
is  dispersed  all  the  world  over."  ^ 

Beza's  selection  of  subjects  to  figure  in  this  book  of  Icons 
is  by  no  means  of  fanatically  exclusive,  or  even  straitlaced 
character.  Erasmus,  a  tolerably  good  portrait,  and  a  mild, 
laudatory,  gentle,  and  apologetic  account  of  the  man,  is  one 
of  his  figures.  The  Printers,  Etienne,  Froben,  for  their 
eximious  services  in  the  cause  of  good  letters,  honarum  liter- 
arum  ;  nay.  King  Francis  i.  is  introduced  in  gallant  beaver  and 
plume,  with  his  surely  very  considerable  failings  well  veiled  in 
shadow,  and  hardly  anything  but  eulogy,  on  the  score  of  his 
beneficences  to  the  Paris  University, — and  probably  withal  of 
the  primitive  fact  that  he  was  Beza's  King.  '  Sham  Bishops, 
pseudo-episcopl,^  '  cruel  murderers  of  God's  messengers,'  '  ser- 
vants of  Satan,'  and  the  like  hard  terms  are  indeed  never 
wanting ;  but  on  the  whole  a  gentle  and  quiet  frame  of  mind 
is  traceable  in  Beza  throughout ; — and  one  almost  has  the 
suspicion  that,  especially  as  his  stock  both  of  Icons  and  of 
facts  is  so  poor,  one  considerable  subsidiary  motive  to  the 
publication  may  have  been  the  Forty  Emblems,  <■  picUiras  quas 
Emblemata  vocant,''  pretty  little  engravings,  and  sprightly 
Latin  verse,  which  follow  on  these  poor  prose  Icons ;  and 
testify  to  all  the  intelligent  world  that  Beza's  fine  poetic  vein 
is  still  flowing,  and  without  the  much -censured  erotic,  or 
other  impure  elements,  which  caused  so  much  scandal  in  his 
younger  days. 

1  Fuller's  Church  History,  Section  ii.  Book  iv. 


318      THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX 

About  the  middle  of  the  Book  turns  up  a  brief,  vague 
eulogy  of  the  Reformation  in  Scotland,  with  only  two  char- 
acters introduced ;  Patrick  Hamilton,  the  Scottish  proto- 
martyr,  as  second  in  the  list ;  and,  in  frank  disregard  of  the 
chronology,    as    first    and    leading   figure,  '  Johannes    Cnoxus 

lOANNES   CNOXTS. 


GifFordiensis  Scotus "" ;  and  to  the  surprise  of  every  reader 
acquainted  with  the  character  of  Knox,  as  written  indelibly, 
and  in  detail,  in  his  words  and  actions  legible  to  this  day, 
the  above  strange  Icon ;  very  difficult  indeed  to  accept  as 
a  bodily  physiognomy  of  the  man  you  have  elsewhere  got  an 
image  of  for  yourself,  by  industrious  study  of  these  same. 


J 


THE    PORTRAITS    OF   JOHN    KNOX      319 

Surely  quite  a  surprising  individual  to  have  kindled  all 
Scotland,  within  few  years,  almost  within  few  months,  into 
perhaps  the  noblest  flame  of  sacred  human  zeal,  and  brave 
determination  to  believe  only  what  it  found  completely  believ- 
able, and  to  defy  the  whole  world  and  the  devil  at  its  back, 
in  unsubduable  defence  of  the  same.  Here  is  a  gentleman 
seemingly  of  a  quite  eupeptic,  not  to  say  stolid  and  thought- 
less frame  of  mind  ;  much  at  his  ease  in  Zion,  and  content 
to  take  things  as  they  come,  if  only  they  will  let  him  digest 
his  victuals,  and  sleep  in  a  whole  skin.  Knox,  you  can  well 
perceive,  in  all  his  writings  and  in  all  his  way  of  life,  was 
emphatically  of  Scottish  build  ;  eminently  a  national  speci- 
men ;  in  fact  what  we  might  denominate  the  most  Scottish 
of  Scots,  and  to  this  day  typical  of  all  the  qualities  which 
belong  nationally  to  the  very  choicest  Scotsmen  we  have 
known,  or  had  clear  record  of ;  utmost  sharpness  of  discern- 
ment and  discrimination,  courage  enough,  and,  what  is  still 
better,  no  particular  consciousness  of  courage,  but  a  readiness 
in  all  simplicity  to  do  and  dare  whatsoever  is  commanded  by 
the  inward  yoice  of  native  manhood  ;  on  the  whole  a  beautiful 
and  simple  but  complete  incompatibility  with  whatever  is  false 
in  word  or  conduct ;  inexorable  contempt  and  detestation  of 
what  in  modern  speech  is  called  humbug.  Nothing  hypo- 
critical, foolish,  or  untrue  can  find  harbour  in  this  man  ;  a 
pure,  and  mainly  silent,  tenderness  of  affection  is  in  him, 
touches  of  genial  humour  are  not  wanting  under  his  severe 
austerity ;  an  occasional  growl  of  sarcastic  indignation  against 
malfeasance,  falsity,  and  stupidity ;  indeed  secretly  an  exten- 
sive fund  of  that  disposition,  kept  mainly  silent,  though 
inwardly  in  daily  exercise  ;  a  most  clear-cut,  hardy,  distinct, 
and  effective  man ;  fearing  God  and  without  any  other  fear. 
Of  all  this  you  in  vain  search  for  the  smallest  trace  in  this 
poor  Icon  of  Beza's.  No  feature  of  a  Scottish  man  traceable 
there,  nor  indeed,  you  would  say,  of  any  man  at  all ;  an 
entirely  insipid,  expressionless  individuality,  more  like  the 
wooden  Figurehead  of  a  ship  than  a  living  and  working  man ; 


320      THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX 

highly  unacceptable  to  every  physiognomic  reader  and  knower 
of  Johannes  Cnoxus  Giffbrdiensis  Scotus. 

Under  these  circumstances  it  is  not  a  surprise,  and  is  almost 
a  consolation,  to  find  that  Beza  has  as  little  knowledge  of 
Knox's  biography  as  of  his  natural  face.  Nothing  here,  or 
hardly  anything  but  a  blotch  of  ignorant  confusion.  The 
year  of  Knox's  birth  is  unknown  to  Beza,  the  place  very 
indistinctly  known.  Beza  reports  him  to  have  studied  with 
great  distinction  under  John  Major  at  St.  Andrews ;  the  fact 
being  that  he  was  one  winter  under  Major  at  Glasgow,  but 
never  under  Major  at  St.  Andrews,  nor  ever  a  university 
student  elsewhere  at  all ;  that  his  admired  neological  pre- 
lections at  St.  Andrews  are  a  creature  of  the  fancy ;  and  in 
short  that  Beza's  account  of  that  early  period  is  mere  haze 
and  ignorant  hallucination.  Having  received  the  order  of 
priesthood,  thinks  Beza,  he  set  to  lecturing  in  a  so  valiantly 
neological  tone  in  Edinburgh  and  elsewhere  that  Cardinal 
Beaton  could  no  longer  stand  it ;  but  truculently  summoned 
him  to  appear  in  Edinburgh  on  a  given  day,  and  give  account 
of  himself;  whereupon  Knox,  evading  the  claws  of  this  man- 
eater,  secretly  took  himself  away  '  to  Hamestonum^ — a  tov/n 
or  city  unknown  to  geographers,  ancient  or  modern,  but 
which,  according  to  Beza,  was  then  and  there  the  one  refuge 
of  the  pious,  unicum  tunc  piorum  asylum.  Towards  this 
refuge  Cardinal  Beaton  thereupon  sent  assassins  (entirely 
imaginary),  who  would  for  certain  have  cut  off  Knox  in  his 
early  spring,  had  not  God's  providence  commended  him  to 
the  care  of  '  Langudrius,  a  principal  nobleman  in  Scotland,' 
by  whom  his  precious  life  was  preserved.  This  town  of 
Hamestonum,  sole  refuge  of  the  pious,'  and  this  protective 
Langudrius,  a  principal  nobleman,'  are  extremely  wonderful 
to  the  reader ;  and  only  after  a  little  study  do  you  discover 
that  '  Langudrius,  a  principal  nobleman,'  is  simply  the  Laird 
of  Langniddry^  and  that  '  Hamestonum '  the  city  of  refuge  is 
Cockburn  the  Laird  of  Ormistons ;  both  of  whom  had  Sons  in 
want  of  education  ;  three  in  all,  two  of  Langniddry's  and  one 


THE    PORTRAITS    OF   JOHN    KNOX      321 

of  Ormiston's,  who,  especially  the  first,  had  been  lucky  enough 
to  secure  John  Knox's  services  as  tutor  !  The  rest  of  the 
narrative  is  almost  equally  absurd,  or  only  saved  from  being 
so  by  its  emptiness  and  vagueness  ;  and  the  one  certain  fact 
we  come  upon  is  that  of  Knox's  taking  leave  of  his  congrega- 
tion, and  shortly  afterwards  ordaining  in  their  presence  his 
successor,  chosen  by  them  and  him,  followed  by  his  death  in 
fifteen  days,  dates  all  accurately  given  ;  on  which  latter  point, 
what  is  curious  to  consider,  Beza  must  have  had  exact  infor- 
mation, not  mere  rumour. 

From  all  this  we  might  infer  that  Beza  had  never  personally 
had  the  least  acquaintance  with  Knox,  never  in  all  likelihood 
seen  him  with  eyes ;  which  latter  on  strict  examination  of  the 
many  accurate  particulars  to  be  found  in  the  Lives  of  Beza, 
and  especially  in  Bayle's  multifarious  details  about  him, 
comes  to  seem  your  legitimate  conclusion.  Knox's  journeys 
to  Geneva,  and  his  two  several  residences,  as  preacher  to  the 
Church  of  the  English  Exiles  there,  do  not  coincide  with 
Beza's  contemporary  likelihoods ;  nor  does  Beza  seem  to  have 
been  a  person  whom  Knox  would  have  cared  to  seek  out. 
Beza  was  at  Lausanne,  teaching  Greek,  and  not  known  other- 
wise than  as  a  much-censured,  fashionable  young  Frenchman 
and  too  erotic  poet ;  nothing  of  theological  had  yet  come 
from  him, — except,  while  Knox  was  far  off,  the  questionable 
Apology  for  Calvin's  burning  of  Servetus,  which  cannot  have 
had  much  charm  for  Knox,  a  man  by  no  means  fond  of  public 
burning  as  an  argument  in  matters  of  human  belief,  rather 
the  reverse  by  all  symptoms  we  can  trace  in  him.  During 
Knox's  last  and  most  important  ministration  in  Geneva,  Beza, 
still  officially  Professor  of  Greek  at  Lausanne,  was  on  an 
intricate  mission  from  the  French  Huguenots  to  the  Protest- 
ant Princes  of  Germany,  and  did  not  come  to  settle  in  Geneva 
till  Spring  1559,  several  months  after  Knox  had  permanently 
left  it. 

Directly  after  finishing  his  Book,  Beza  naturally  forwarded 
a  copy  to  Edinburgh,  to  the  little  patron  Sovereign  there ; 

VOL.  V.  X 


322     THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX 

probably  with  no  writing  in  it ;  there  being  such  a  comfort- 
able Dedication  and  Frontispiece  to  the  Book,  but  along  with 
it  a  short  letter  to  Buchanan,  the  little  King's  Head-Tutor, 
of  which  happily  there  is  a  copy  still  preserved  to  us,  and 
ready  translated,  as  follows  : 

'  Behold,  my  dear  Buchanan,  a  notable  instance  of  double 
extravagance  in  a  single  act ;  affording  an  illustration  of  the 
characteristic  phrenzy  of  poets,— provided  you  admit  me  to 
a  participation  of  that  title.  I  have  been  guilty  of  trifling 
with  a  serious  subject,  and  have  dedicated  my  trifles  to  a 
king.  If  with  your  usual  politeness,  and  in  consideration  of 
our  ancient  friendship,  you  should  undertake  to  excuse  both 
these  circumstances  to  the  King,  I  trust  the  matter  will  have 
a  fortunate  issue  :  but  if  you  refuse,  I  shall  be  disappointed 
in  my  expectations.  The  scope  of  this  little  Work,  such  as 
it  is,  you  will  learn  from  the  preface ;  namely  that  the  King, 
when  he  shall  be  aware  of  the  high  expectations  which  he  has 
excited  in  all  the  Churches,  may  at  the  same  time,  delighted 
with  those  various  and  excellent  examples,  become  more  and 
more  familiar  with  his  duty.  Of  this  Work  I  likewise  send 
a  copy  to  you,  that  is,  owls  to  Athens ;  and  request  you  to 
accept  it  as  a  token  of  my  regard.  My  late  Paraphrase  of 
the  Psalms,  if  it  has  reached  your  country,  will  I  hope  inspire 
you  with  the  design  of  reprinting  your  own,  to  the  great 
advantage  of  the  Church  :  and,  believe  me,  it  is  not  so  much 
myself  as  the  whole  Church  that  entreats  you  to  accelerate 
this  scheme.  Farewell,  excellent  man.  May  the  Lord  Jesus 
bless  your  hoary  hairs  more  and  more,  and  long  preserve  you 
for  our  sake. — Geneva,  j\Iarch  the  sixteenth,  1580.'^ 

What  Buchanan  or  the  King  thought  of  this  Book,  especially 
of  the  two  Icons,  Johannes  Cnoxus  and  the  little  silver  pepper- 
box of  a  King,  we  have  not  anywhere  the  slightest  intimation. 
But  one  little  fact,  due  to  the  indefatigable  scrutiny  and  great 
knowledge  of  Mr.  David  Laing,  seems  worthy  of  notice.     This 

^  Buchanani  Epistola:,  p.  28.     Translated  by  Dr.  Irving,  Life  and  Writings 
of  George  Buchanan  (Edinburgh  1807),  p.  184. 


THE    PORTRAITS    OF   JOHN    KNOX      323 

is  an  excerpt  from  the  Scottish  Royal  Treasurer's  accounts,  of 
date,  Junij  1581  (one  of  the  volumes  not  yet  printed) : 

'  Itim,  To  Adrianc  Vaensoun,  Fleming  painter,  for  twa 
picturis  painted  be  him,  and  send '  (serit)  '  to  Theodorus  Besa, 
conforme  to  ane  precept  as  the  samin  producit  upon  compt 
beris  SI  10s'  (14^.  M.  sterling). 

The  Itim  and  Adrianc  indicate  a  clerk  of  great  ignorance. 
In  Painters'  Dictionaries  there  is  no  such  name  as  Vaensoun  ; 
but  there  is  a  famous  enough  Vansomer,  or  even  family  or 
clan  of  Vansomers,  natives  of  Antwerp  ;  one  of  whom,  Paulus 
Vansomer,  is  well  known  to  have  painted  with  great  accept- 
ance at  King  James's  Court  in  England  (from  1606  to  1620). 
He  died  here  in  1621  ;  and  is  buried  in  St.-Martin's-in-the- 
Fields  :  Eximius  pictor.  It  is  barely  possible  this  '  Fleming 
painter '  may  have  been  some  individual  of  these  Vansomers  ; 
but  of  course  the  fact  can  never  be  ascertained.  Much  more 
interesting  would  it  be  to  know  what  Theodorus  Beza  made 
of  the  '  twa  picturis '  when  they  reached  him  at  Geneva  ;  and 
where,  if  at  all  in  rerum  natui'd,  they  now  are  !  All  we  can 
guess,  if  there  be  any  possibility  of  conjecturing  so  much  in 
the  vague  is.  That  these  hva  picturis  might  be  portraits  of 
His  Majesty  and  Johannes  Cnoxus  by  an  artist  of  some  real 
ability,  intended  as  a  silent  protest  against  the  Beza  Pepper- 
box and  Figure-head,  in  case  the  Icones  ever  came  to  a  second 
edition  ;  which  it  never  did. 

Unknown  to  his  Scottish  Majesty,  and  before  the  'Adrianc 
Vaensoun  '  pictures  got  under  way,  or  at  least  before  they  were 
paid  for.  Monsieur  Simon  Goulart  had  got  out  his  French 
translation  of  Beza's  Book  ;  and  with  sufficient  emphasis  con- 
tradicted one  of  the  above  two  Icons,  that  of  '  Jean  Cnoxe  de 
Gifford  en  Ecosse,'  the  alone  important  of  the  two.  Goulart 
had  come  to  Geneva  some  eight  or  nine  years  before ;  was  at 
this  time  Beza's  esteemed  colleague  and  co-presbyter,  ultimately 
Beza's  successor  in  the  chief  clerical  position  at  Geneva ;  a 
man  already  distinguished  in  the  world ;  '  wrote  twenty-one 
books,'  then  of  lively  acceptance  in  the  theological  or  literary 


324     THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX 

world,  though  now  fallen  dim  enough  to  mankind.  Goulart's 
Book  had  the  same  publisher  as  Beza's  last  year, — Apud 
Joannem  Laonhim ;  and  contains  a  kind  of  preface  or  rather 
postscript,  for  it  is  introduced  at  the  end  of  the  Icons,  and 
before  his  translation  of  the  Emblems,  which  latter,  as  will 
be  seen,  he  takes  no  notice  of;  nor  in  regard  to  the  Icons  is 
there  a  word  said  of  the  eleven  new  woodcuts,  for  most  part 
of  superior  quality,  which  Goulart  had  furnished  to  his  illus- 
trious friend  ;  but  only  some  apology  for  the  straggle  of 
French  verses,  which  he  has  been  at  the  pains  to  introduce  in 
his  own  zealous  person  at  the  end  of  many  of  the  Icons.  As 
the  piece  is  short,  and  may  slightly  illustrate  the  relations  of 
Author  and  Translator,  we  give  it  here  entire : 

^Au  Lecteur 

'  Du  consentement  de  M.  Theodore  de  Besze,  j  ''ay  traduit  ce 
livre,  le  phis  Jidelement  qiiil  rrCa  este  possible.  Au  reste,  apres 
la  description  des  personnes  illustres  J  ''ai  adjouste  quelques  vers 
fran<^ais  a  chacim,  exprimant  comme  fai  peu  les  epigranimes 
Latins  de  Vauteur  la  oil  ils  se  sont  rencontrez,  et  Jburnissant 
les  autres  vers  de  ma  rude  invention :  ce  que  j''ay  voulu  vous 
faire  entendre,  ajin  qiCon  rCimputast  a  Vauteur  choses  qu'il  eust 
peu  agencer  trop  mieux  sans  comparaison,  si  le  temps  lui  eust 
permis  cefa\re,  et  si  son  esprit  eust  encline  a  y  mettre  la  main.'' 

Goularfs  treatment  of  his,  Beza's,  original  is  of  the  most 
conscientious  exactitude  ;  the  translation  everywhere  correct  to 
a  comma ;  true  everywhere  to  Beza's  meaning,  and  wherever 
possible,  giving  a  touch  of  new  lucidity ;  he  uses  the  same 
woodcuts  that  Beza  did,  plus  only  his  own  eleven,  of  which, 
as  already  said,  there  is  no  mention  or  hint.  In  one  instance, 
and  not  in  any  other,  has  an  evident  misfortune  befallen  him, 
in  the  person  of  his  printer  ;  the  printer  had  two  woodcuts  to 
introduce  ;  one  of  Jean  Diaze, — a  tragic  Spanish  Protestant, 
fratricidally  murdered  at  Neuburg  in  the  Oberpfalz,  1546, — 
the  other  of  Melchior  Wolmar,  an  early  German  friend  and 


THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX      325 

loved  intimate  of  Beza's,  from  whom  Beza,  at  Orleans,  had 
learned  Greek  :  the  two  Icons  in  outline  have  a  certain  vague 
similarity,  which  had  deceived  the  too  hasty  printer  of 
Goulart,  who,  after  inserting  Beza's  Icon  of  Diaze,  again 
inserts  H,  instead  of  Wolmar.      This  is  the  one  mistake  or 

JEAN   CNOX    DE     GIFFORD 

EJ^I    ESCOSSE 


palpable  oversight  discoverable  in  Goulart's  accurately  con- 
scientious labour,  which  everywhere  else  reproduces  Beza  as  in 
a  clear  mirror.  But  there  is  one  other  variation,  not,  as  it 
seems  to  us,  by  mere  oversight  of  printer  or  pressman,  but  by 
clear  intention  on  the  part  of  Goulart,  which  is  of  the  highest 
interest  to  our  readers  :  the  notable  fact,  namely,  that  Goulart 
has,  of  his  own  head,  silently  altogether  withdrawn  the 
Johannes   Cnoxus   of  Beza,   and   substituted   for  it   this  now 


326      THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN   KNOX 

adjoined  Icon,  one  of  his  own  eleven,  which  has  no  relation 
or  resemblance  whatever  to  the  Beza  likeness,  or  to  any  other 
ever  known  of  Knox.  A  portrait  recognisably  not  of  Knox 
at  all ;  but  of  William  Tyndale,  translator  of  the  Bible,  a 
fellow-exile  of  Knox's  at  Geneva  ;  which  is  found  repeated  in 
all  manner  of  collections,  and  is  now  everywhere  accepted  as 
Tyndale's  likeness  ! 

This  surely  is  a  wonderful  transaction  on  the  part  of  con- 
scientious, hero-worshipping  Goulart  towards  his  hero  Beza ; 
and  indeed  will  seem  to  most  persons  to  be  explicable  only  on 
the  vague  hypothesis  that  some  old  or  middle-aged  inhabitant 
of  Geneva,  who  had  there  sometimes  transiently  seen  Knox, 
twenty-one  years  ago  (Knox  had  left  Geneva  in  January  1559, 
and,  pi-eaching  to  a  group  of  poor  English  exiles,  probably 
was  never  very  conspicuous  there),  had  testified  to  Beza  or  to 
Goulart  that  the  Beza  Figure-head  was  by  no  means  a  likeness 
of  Knox  ;  which  fatal  information,  on  inquiry,  had  been  con- 
firmed into  clear  proof  in  the  negative,  and  that  Beza  and 
Goulart  had  thereupon  become  convinced,  and  Goulart,  with 
Beza,  taking  a  fresh,  and  again  unfortunate  departure,  had 
agreed  that  here  was  the  real  Dromio,  and  had  silently  inserted 
William  Tyndale  accordingly.  This  is  only  a  vague  hypothesis, 
for  why  did  not  the  old  or  middle-aged  inhabitant  of  Geneva 
testify  with  equal  certainty  that  the  Tyndale  woodcut  was 
just  as  little  a  likeness  of  Knox,  and  check  Goulart  and  Beza 
in  their  new  unfortunate  adventure  ?  But  to  us  the  conclusion, 
which  is  not  hypothetical  at  all,  must  surely  be  that  neither 
Beza  nor  Goulart  had  any  knowledge  whatever  of  the  real 
physiognomy  or  figure  of  Johannes  Cnoxus,  and  in  all  subse- 
quent researches  on  that  subject  are  to  be  considered  mutually 
annihilative ;  and  any  testimony  they  could  give  mere  zero, 
and  of  no  account  at  all. 

This,  however,  was  by  no  means  the  result  which  actually 
followed.  Twenty- two  years  after  this  of  Beza  (1602),  a 
Dutch  Theologian,  one  Verheiden,  whose  knowledge  of  theo- 
logical Icons  was  probably  much  more  distinct  than  Beza's, 


THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX      327 

published  at  the  Hague  a  folio  entitled  Prcestantium  aliquot 
Theologorum  etc.  Effigies,  in  which  Knox  figures  in  the  follow- 
ing new  form  ;    done,  as  the  signature  bears,  by  Hondius,  an 


Engraver  of  known  merit,  but  cognisant  seemingly  of  Beza's 
Book  only,  and  quite  ignorant  of  Goularfs  translation  and 
its  Tyndale  Knox  ;  who  presents  us,  to  our  surprise,  on  this 
occasion,  with  the  portrait  given  above ;  considerably  more 
alive  and  credible  as  a  human  being  than  Beza's  Figure-head ; 


328      THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX 

and  bearing  on  it  the  monogram  of  Hondius ;  so  that  at  least 
its  authorship  is  indisputable. 

This,  as  the  reader  sees,  represents  to  us  a  much  more 
effective-looking  man  in  matters  of  reformation  or  vigorous 
action  ;  in  fact  it  has  a  kind  of  brow-beating  or  almost  bully- 
ing aspect ;  a  decidedly  self-sufficient  man,  but  with  no  trace 
of  feature  in  him  that  physiognomically  can  remind  us  of 
Knox.  The  river  of  beard  flowing  from  it  is  grander  than 
that  in  the  Figure-head,  and  the  Book  there,  with  its  right- 
hand  reminding  you  of  a  tied-up  bundle  of  carrots  supporting 
a  kind  of  loose  little  volume,  are  both  charitably  withdrawn. 
This  woodcut,  it  appears,  pleased  the  late  Sir  David  Wilkie 
best  of  all  the  Portraits  he  had  seen,  and  was  copied  or 
imitated  by  him  in  that  notable  Picture  of  his,  'Knox  preach- 
ing before  Queen  Mary,' — one  of  the  most  impossible  pictures 
ever  painted  by  a  man  of  such  indubitable  genius,  including 
therein  piety,  enthusiasm,  and  veracity, — in  brief  the  probably 
intolerablest  figure  that  exists  of  Knox ;  and  from  one  of  the 
noblest  of  Scottish  painters  the  least  expected.  Such  by 
accident  was  the  honour  done  to  Hondius's  impossible  Knox ; 
not  to  our  advantage,  but  the  contrary.  All  artists  agree  at 
once  that  this  of  Hondius  is  nothing  other  than  an  improved 
reproduction  of  the  old  Beza  Figure-head  ;  the  face  is  turned 
to  the  other  side,  but  the  features  are  preserved,  so  far  as 
adding  some  air  at  least  of  animal  life  would  permit ;  the 
costume,  carefully  including  the  little  patch  of  ruffles  under 
the  jaw,  is  reproduced  ;  and  in  brief  the  conclusion  is  that 
Hondius  or  Verheiden  had  no  doubt  but  the  Beza  portrait, 
though  very  dead  and  boiled -looking,  had  been  essentially 
like ;  and  needed  only  a  little  kindling  up  from  its  boiled 
condition  to  be  satisfactory  to  the  reader.  Goulart's  French 
Translation  of  Beza,  and  the  substitution  of  the  Tyndale  figure 
there,  as  we  have  said,  seems  to  be  unknown  to  Verheiden 
and  his  Hondius  ;  indeed  Verheiden's  library,  once  furnished 
with  a  Beza,  having  no  use  for  a  poor  Interpretation.  In  fact 
we  should  rather  guess  the  success  of  Goulart  in  foreign  parts, 


THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX      329 

remote  from  Geneva  and  its  reading  population,  to  have  been 
inconsiderable ;  at  least  in  Scotland  and  England,  where  no 
mention  of  it  or  allusion  to  it  is  made,  and  where  the  Book 
at  this  day  is  fallen  extremely  scarce  in  comparison  with 
Beza's ;  no  copy  to  be  found  in  the  British  Museum,  and 
dealers  in  old  books  testifying  that  it  is  of  extreme  rarity  ; 
and  would  now  bring,  said  one  experienced-looking  old  man, 
perhaps  twenty  guineas.  Beza's  boiled  Figure-head  appears 
to  have  been  regarded  as  the  one  canonical  Knox,  and  the 
legitimate  function  of  every  limner  of  Knox  to  be  that  of 
Hondius,  the  reproduction  of  the  Beza  Figure-head,  with  such 
improvements  and  invigorations  as  his  own  best  judgment  or 
happiest  fancy  might  suggest.  Of  the  Goulart  substitution 
of  Tyndale  for  Knox,  there  seems  to  have  been  no  notice  or 
remembrance  anywhere,  or  if  any,  then  only  a  private  censure 
and  suppression  of  the  Goulart  and  his  Tyndale.  Meanwhile, 
such  is  the  wild  chaos  of  the  history  of  bad  prints,  the  whirli- 
gig of  time  did  bring  about  its  revenge  upon  poor  Beza.  In 
Les  Portraits  des  Hommes  Illustres  qiii  ont  le  plus  contrihue 
cm  Retahlissement  des  belles  lettres  et  de  la  vraye  Religion  {A 
Geneve^  1673),  the  woodcut  of  Knox  is  contentedly  given,  as 
Goulart  gave  it  in  his  French  Translation  ;  and  for  that  of 
Beza  himself  the  boiled  Figure-head,  which  Beza  denominated 
Knox  !  The  little  silver  Pepper-box  is  likewise  given  again 
there  as  portrait  of  Jacobus  vi., — Jacobus  who  had,  in  the 
mean  time,  grown  to  full  stature,  and  died  some  fifty  years 
ago.  For  not  in  Nature,  but  only  in  some  chaos  thrice  con- 
founded, with  Egyptian  darkness  superadded,  is  there  to  be 
found  any  history  comparable  to  that  of  old  bad  prints.  For 
example,  of  that  disastrous  old  Figure-head,  produced  to  view 
by  Beza,  who  or  what  did  draw  it,  when  or  from  what 
authority,  if  any,  except  that  evidently  some  human  being 
did,  and  presumably  from  some  original  or  other,  must  remain 
for  ever  a  mystery.  In  a  large  Granger^  fifty  or  sixty  big 
folios,  and  their  thousands  of  prints,  I  have  seen  a  summary 
collection,  of  the  latter  part  of  Elizabeth's  reign,  of  some 


330     THE    PORTRAITS    OF   JOHN    KNOX 

fourteen  or  fifteen  Heroes  of  the  Reformation,  Knox  among 
them  ;  all  flung  down  in  the  form  of  big  circular  blotch,  like 
the  opened  eggs  for  an  omelet,  and  among  these  fourteen  or 
fifteen  egg-yolks,  hardly  two  of  which  you  could  determine 
even  what  they  wished  to  resemble. 

For  the  last  century  or  so,  by  far  the  most  famed  and 
trusted  of  Scottish  Knox  Portraits  has  been  that  in  the 
possession  of  the  Torphichen  family,  at  Calder  House,  some 
twelve  or  more  miles  from  Edinburgh.  This  Picture  was 
public  here  in  the  Portrait  Exhibition  in  1869,  and  a  photo- 
graph or  attempt  at  photograph  was  taken  of  it,  but  with 
little  success,  the  colours  having  mostly  grown  so  black.  By 
the  great  kindness  of  the  now  Lord  Torphichen,  the  Picture 
was,  with  prompt  and  conspicuous  courtesy,  which  I  shall  not 
soon  forget,  sent  up  again  for  inspection  here,  and  examina- 
tion by  artistic  judges ;  and  was  accordingly  so  examined  and 
inspected  by  several  persons  of  eminence  in  that  department ; 
all  of  whom  were,  almost  at  first  sight,  unanimous  in  pro- 
nouncing it  to  be  a  picture  of  no  artistic  merit ; — impossible 
to  ascribe  it  to  any  namable  ])ainter,  having  no  style  or  worth 
in  it,  as  a  painting ;  guessable  to  be  perhaps  under  a  century 
old,  and  very  clearly  an  improved  copy  from  the  Beza  Figure- 
head. Of  course  no  photographing  was  attempted  on  our 
part ;  but  along  with  it  there  had  been  most  obligingly  sent 
a  copy  of  the  late  Mr.  Penny  of  Calder's  engraving ;  a  most 
meritorious  and  exact  performance,  of  which  no  copy  was 
discoverable  in  the  London  shops,  though,  at  Mr.  Graves's 
and  elsewhere,  were  found  one  or  two  others  of  much  inferior 
exactitude  to  Mr.  Penny's  engraving  : — of  this  a  photograph 
was  taken,  which,  in  the  form  of  woodcut,  is  on  the  next  page 
subjoined. 

This  Torphichen  Picture  is  essentially  like  the  Beza  wood- 
cut, though  there  has  been  a  strenuous  attempt  on  the  part 
of  the  hopelessly  incompetent  Painter  to  improve  upon  it, 
successful  chiefly  in  the  matter  of  the  bunch  of  carrots,  which 


THE  TORPHICHEN  PORTRAIT 


THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN  KNOX       331 

is  rendered  almost  like  a  human  hand ;  for  the  rest  its 
original  at  once  declares  itself,  were  it  only  by  the  loose  book 
held  in  said  hand  ;  by  the  form  of  the  nose  and  the  twirl  of 
ruffles  under  the  left  cheek ;  clearly  a  bad  picture,  done  in 
oil,  some  generations  ago,  for  which  the  Beza  Figure-head 
served  as  model,  accidentally  raised  to  pictorial  sovereignty 
by  the  voa:  populi  of  Scotland.  On  the  back  of  the  canvas, 
in  cleai",  strong  hand,  by  all  appearance  less  than  a  century 
old,  are  written  these  words  :  '  Rev.  Mr.  John  Knox.  The 
first  sacrament  of  the  Supper  given  in  Scotland  after  the 
Reformation,  was  dispensed  by  him  in  this  hall.'  A  state- 
ment, it  appears,  which  is  clearly  erroneous,  if  that  were  of 
much  moment.  The  Picture  as  a  guide  to  the  real  likeness 
of  Knox  was  judged  by  us  to  offer  no  help  whatever;  but 
does  surely  testify  to  the  Protestant  zeal  of  some  departed 
Lord  Torphichen ;  and  indeed  it  is  not  improbable  that  the 
conspicuous  fidelity  of  that  noble  house  in  all  its  branches  to 
Knox  and  his  Reformation,  from  first  to  last,  through  all  his 
and  its  perils  and  struggles,  has  been  the  chief  cause  of  its 
singular  currency  in  Scotland,  in  the  later  generation  or  two. 
Certain  the  picture  is  a  poor  and  altogether  commonplace 
reproduction  of  the  Beza  Figure-head  ;  and  has  nevertheless, 
as  I  am  assured  by  judgments  better  than  my  own,  been  the 
progenitor  of  all,  or  nearly  all,  the  incredible  Knoxes,  the 
name  of  which  is  now  legion.  Nearly  all,  I  said,  not  quite 
all,  for  one  or  two  set  up  to  be  originals,  not  said  by  whom, 
and  seem  to  partake  more  of  the  Hondius  type ;  having  a 
sullen  or  sulky  expression  superadded  to  the  self-sufficiency 
and  copious  river  of  beard,  bestowed  by  Hondius. 

The  so-called  original  Knox,  still  in  Glasgow  University, 
is  thus  described  to  me  by  a  friendly  Scottish  artist,  Mr. 
Robert  Tait,  Queen  Anne  Street,  of  good  faculties  and  oppor- 
tunities in  such  things,  as  of  doubtful  derivation  from  the 
Beza  Icon,  though  engraved  and  recommended  as  such  by 
Pinkerton,  and  as  being  an  '  altogether  weak  and  foolish 
head.'      From  the  same  artist   I  also   learn  that   the  bronze 


332      THE    PORTRAITS    OF   JOHN    KNOX 

figure  in  the  monument  at  Glasgow  is  a  visible  derivative 
from  Beza,  through  Torphichen.  And  in  brief  this  poor 
Figure-head  has  produced,  and  is  still  producing,  through 
various  venters,  a  quite  Protean  pecus  of  incredible  portraits 
of  Knox ; — the  latest  of  note,  generally  known,  is  M'Crie's 
frontispiece  to  the  Life  of  Knox,  and  probably  the  most 
widely  spread  in  our  generation  that  given  in  Chambers's 
Biographical  Dictionary.  A  current  portrait,  I  suppose,  of 
the  last  century,  although  there  is  no  date  on  it,  'in  the  pos- 
session of  Miss  Knox  of  Edinburgh,  painted  by  De  Vos,'  has 
some  air  of  generic  difference,  but  is  evidently  of  filiality  to 
Hondius  or  Torphichen  withal  ;  and  as  to  its  being  painted 
by  De  Vos,  there  is  no  trace  of  that  left  visible,  nor  of  Miss 
Knox,  the  once  proprietress ;  not  to  add,  that  there  is  a 
whole  clan  of  Dutch  De  Voses,  and  no  Christian  name  for  the 
Miss  Knox  one.  Another  picture  not  without  impressiveness 
has  still  its  original  in  Holy  rood  House ;  and  is  thought  to 
be  of  some  merit  and  of  a  different  clan  from  the  Torphichen; 
but  with  a  pair  of  compasses  in  the  hand  of  it,  instead  of  a 
Bible ;  and  indeed  has  been  discovered  by  Mr.  Laing  to  be 
the  portrait  of  an  architect  or  master-builder,  and  to  be 
connected  merely  with  the  aedilities,  not  with  the  theologies 
of  Holyrood  House.  A  nmch  stranger  '  original  Picture  of 
Knox  ■■  is  still  to  be  found  in  Hamilton  Palace,  but  it  repre- 
sents unfortunately,  not  the  Prophet  of  the  Reformation,  but 
to  all  appearance  the  professional  Merry  Andrew  of  that 
family. — Another  artist  friend  of  great  distinction,  Mr.  J.  E. 
Boehm,  sculptor,  sums  up  his  first  set  of  experiences,  which 
have  since  been  carried  to  such  lengths  and  depths,  in  these 
words,  dated  January  28,  1874  : 

'  I  called  to  thank  you  for  the  loan  of  John  Knox's  portrait' 
(Engraving  of  the  SomerviUe,  of  which  there  will  be  speech 
enough  by  and  by),  '  and  to  beg  you  to  do  me  the  favour  of 
looking  at  the  sketches  which  I  have  modelled,  and  to  give 
me  your  valuable  opinion  about  them. — I  have  just  been  to 
the  British   IMuseum,   and    have   seen    enffravings    after   four 


THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX      333 

pictures  of  John  Knox.  The  only  one  which  looks  clone 
from  Nature,  and  a  really  characteristic  portrait,  is  that  of 
which  you  have  a  print.  It  is  I  find  from  a  picture  "  in  the 
possession  of  Lord  Somerville.""  Two  more,  which  are  very 
like  each  other  in  quality,  and  in  quantity  of  beard  and 
garments,  are,  one  in  the  possession  of  a  Miss  Knox  of 
Edinburgh  (painted  by  De  Vos),  the  other  at  Calder  House 
(Lord  Torphichen's).  The  fourth,  which  is  very  bad,  wherein 
he  is  represented  laughing  like  a  "  Hqfnarr,''''  is  from  a  paint- 
ing in  Hamilton  Palace ;  but  cannot  possibly  have  been  ilie 
John  Knox,  as  he  has  a  turned-up  nose  and  looks  funny.' 

But  enough  now,  and  more  than  enough,  of  the  soul-con- 
fusing spectacle  of  Proteus  driving  all  his  monstrous  flock, 
product  of  chaos,  to  view  the  lofty  mountains  and  the  sane 
minds  of  men. 

II 

Will  the  reader  consent,  at  this  stage  of  our  little  enter- 
prise, to  a  few  notices  or  excerpts  direct  from  Knox  himself; 
from  his  own  wa-itings  and  actions  ?  perhaps  it  may  be  possible 
from  these,  even  on  the  part  of  outsiders  and  strangers  to 
Knox,  to  catch  some  glimpses  of  his  inward  physiognomy, 
though  all  credible  traces  of  his  outward  or  bodily  lineaments 
appear  hitherto  to  have  fallen  impossible.  Here  is  a  small 
touch  of  mirth  on  the  part  of  Knox,  from  whom  we  are  accus- 
tomed to  expect  very  opposite  things.  It  is  the  report  of  a 
Sermon  by  one  Arth,  a  Black  or  Grey  Friar  of  the  St.  Andrews 
neighbourhood,  seemingly  a  jocular  person,  though  not  with- 
out serious  ideas  :  Sermon,  which  was  a  discourse  on  '  Cursing ' 
(Clerical  Excommunication),  a  thing  the  priests  were  wonder- 
fully given  to  at  that  time,  had  been  preached  first  in  Dundee, 
and  had  got  for  poor  Arth  from  certain  jackmen  of  the  Bishop 
of  Brechin,  instead  of  applause,  some  hustling  and  even  cuff- 
ing, followed  by  menaces  and  threatened  tribulation  from  the 
Bishop  himself;  till  Arth  got  permission  to  deliver  his  sermon 
again  in  the  kirk  of  St.  Andrews  to  a  distinguished  audience  ; 


334      THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX 

who  voted  the  purport  and  substance  of  it  to  be  essentially 
true  and  justifiable.  Here,  at  second  hand,  is  Knox's  summary 
of  the  discourse,  written  many  years  after  : 

'  The  theme ""  {text)  '  of  his  sermon  was  "  Veritie  is  the 
strongest  of  all  things."  His  discourse  of  Cursing  was,  That 
if  it  were  rightly  used,  it  was  the  most  fearful  thing  upon  the 
face  of  the  earth  ;  for  it  was  the  very  separation  of  man  from 
God ;  but  that  it  should  not  be  used  rashly  and  for  every 
light  cause,  but  only  against  open  and  incorrigible  sinners. 
But  now  (said  he)  the  avarice  of  priests  and  the  ignorance  of 
their  office,  has  caused  it  altogether  to  be  vilipended  ;  for  the 
priest  (said  he)  whose  duty  and  office  is  to  pray  for  the  people, 
stands  up  on  Sunday  and  cries,  "  Ane  has  tynt  a  spurtil "  {lost 
a  porridge-stick).  "  There  is  ane  flail  stolen  from  them  beyond 
the  burn."  "  The  good- wife  of  the  other  side  of  the  gate  has 
tynt  a  horn  spune  "  {lost  a  horn  spoon).  "  God's  maleson  and 
mine  I  give  to  them  that  knows  of  this  gear  and  restores  it 
not."  How  the  people  mocked  their  cursing,  he  farther  told 
a  merry  tale ;  how,  after  a  sermon  he  had  made  at  Dunferm- 
ling,  he  came  to  a  house  where  gossips  were  drinking  their 
Sunday's  penny,  and  he,  being  dry,  asked  drink.  "  Yes,  Father 
(said  one  of  the  gossips),  ye  shall  have  drink ;  but  ye  maun 
first  resolve  ane  doubt  which  is  risen  among  us,  to  wit,  what 
servant  will  serve  a  man  best  on  least  expenses."  "The  good 
Angel  (said  I),  who  is  man's  keeper,  who  makes  greatest  service 
without  expenses."  "  Tush  (said  the  gossip),  we  mean  no  so 
high  matters  :  we  mean,  what  honest  man  will  do  greatest 
service  for  least  expenses  ? "  And  while  I  was  musing  (said 
the  Friar)  what  that  should  mean,  he  said,  "  I  see,  Father, 
that  the  greatest  clerks  are  not  the  wisest  men.  Know  ye  not 
how  the  Bishops  and  their  officials  serve  us  husbandmen  ? 
Will  they  not  give  to  us  a  letter  of  Cursing  for  a  plack "  {say, 
farthing  English),  "  to  last  for  a  year,  to  curse  all  that  look 
ower  our  dyke  ?  and  that  keeps  our  corn  better  nor  the  sleep- 
ing boy  that  will  have  three  shillings  of  fee,  a  sark,  and  a  pair 
of  shoon  "  {shirt  and  pair  of  shoes)  "  in  the  year.     And  there- 


THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX     335 

fore  if  their  cursing  dow "  (avail)  "  anything,  we  hold  the 
Bishops  best-cheap  servants  in  that  respect  that  are  within 
the  reahn.'' '  ^ 

Knox  never  heard  this  discourse  himself;  far  away,  he, 
from  Arth  and  St.  Andrews  at  that  time.  But  he  has  con- 
trived to  make  out  of  it  and  the  circumstances  surrounding, 
a  little  picture  of  old  Scotch  life,  bright  and  real-looking,  as 
if  by  Teniers  or  Ostade. 

Knox's  first  concern  with  anything  of  Public  History  in 
Scotland  or  elsewhere,  and  this  as  yet  quite  private  and  noted 
only  by  himself,  is  his  faithful  companionship  of  the  noble 
martyr  Wishart,  in  the  final  days  of  his  sore  pilgrimage  and 
battle  in  this  world.  Wishart  had  been  driven  out  of  Scotland, 
while  still  quite  young,  for  his  heretical  proceedings  ;  and  had 
sought  refuge  in  England  ;  had  gained  great  love  for  his  fine 
character  and  qualities,  especially  during  his  stay,  of  a  year 
or  more,  in  Cambridge  University,  as  one  of  his  most  ardent 
friends  and  disciples  there,  Emery  Tylney,  copiously  testifies, 
in  what  is  now  the  principal  record  and  extant  biography  of 
Wishart, — still  preserved  in  Foxes  Martyrology. 

In  consequence  of  the  encouraging  prospects  that  had  risen 
in  Scotland,  Wishart  returned  thither  in  1546,  and  began 
preaching,  at  last  publicly,  in  the  streets  of  Dundee,  with 
great  acceptance  from  the  better  part  of  the  population  there. 
Perils  and  loud  menacings  from  official  quarters  were  not 
wanting ;  finally  Wishart  had  moved  to  other  safer  places  of 
opportunity ;  thence  back  to  Dundee,  where  pestilence  was 
raging  ;  and  there,  on  impulse  of  his  own  conscience  only,  had 
'  planted  himself  between  the  living  and  the  dead,"*  and  been 
to  many  a  terrestrial  help  and  comfort, — not  to  speak  of  a 
celestial.      The  pest    abating   at    Dundee,  he  went   to    East 

'  The  Works  of  John  Knox,  collected  and  edited  by  David  Laing  (the  first 
complete,  and  perfectly  annotated  Edition  ever  given  :  a  highly  meritorious,  and, 
considering  all  the  difficulties,  intrinsic  and  accidental,  even  a  heroic  Performance  ; 
for  which  all  Scotland,  and  in  a  sense  all  the  world,  is  debtor  to  Mr.  Laing) ; 
6  vols.  Edinburgh,  1846-64,  i.  p.  37  et  seq. 


336      THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX 

Lothian  ;  and  there,  with  Haddington  for  head-quarters,  and 
some  principal  gentry,  especially  the  Lairds  of  Langniddry 
and  Ormiston,  protecting  and  encouraging,  and  beyond  all 
others  with  John  Knox,  tutor  to  these  gentlemen's  sons,  attend- 
ing him,  with  the  liveliest  appreciation  and  most  admiring 
sympathy, — indeed  acting,  it  would  seem,  as  Captain  of  his 
Body-guard.  For  it  is  marked  as  a  fact  that  the  monstrous 
Cardinal  Beaton  had  in  this  case  appointed  a  specific  assassin, 
a  devil-serving  Priest,  to  track  Wishart  diligently  in  these 
journeyings  about  of  his,  which  were  often  nocturnal  and 
opportune  for  such  a  thing,  and,  the  sooner  the  better,  do 
him  to  death  ;  and  on  the  one  clear  glimpse  allowed  us  of 
Knox,  it  was  he  that  carried  the  '  two-handed  sword  '  provided 
for  Wishart's  safety  against  such  chances.  This  assassin  pro- 
ject against  Wishart  is  probably  the  origin  of  Beza's  notion 
about  Beaton's  intention  to  assassinate  Knox ;  who  was  at 
this  time  far  below  the  notice  of  such  a  high  mightiness,  and 
in  all  probability  had  never  been  heard  of  by  him.  Knox  had 
been  privately  a  most  studious,  thoughtful,  and  intelligent 
man  for  long  years,  but  was  hitherto,  though  now  in  his  forty- 
first  year,  known  only  as  tutor  to  the  three  sons  of  Lang- 
niddry and  Ormiston  {^Langiidrms  and  Hamestmmm ') ;  and 
did  evidently  carry  the  two-handed  sword,  on  the  last  occasion 
on  which  it  could  have  availed  in  poor  Wishart's  case. 

Knox's  account  of  Wishart,  written  down  hastily  twenty 
years  after,  in  his  History  of  the  Reformation,  is  full  of  a 
noble,  heartfelt,  we  might  call  it  holy  sympathy,— pious  and 
pure  in  a  high  degree.  The  noble  and  zealous  Wishart,  'at 
the  end  of  the  Holy  dayis  of  Yule,'  1546,  came  to  Haddington, 
full  of  hope  that  the  great  tidings  he  was  preaching  would 
find  a  fervour  of  acceptance  from  the  people  there ;  but 
Wishart's  disappointment,  during  the  three  days  and  nights 
that  this  visit  lasted,  was  mournfully  great.  The  first  day 
the  audience  was  considerable  (what  Knox  calls  'reasonable'), 
but  nothing  like  what  had  been  expected,  and  formerly  usual 
to  Wishart  in  that  kirk  on  such  occasions.     The  second  day  it 


THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX      337 

was  worse,  and  the  third  *  so  sclender,  that  many  wondered.' 
The  fact  was  that  the  Earl  of  Bothwell,  the  afterwards  so 
famous  and  infamous,  at  this  time  High  Sheriff  of  the  County 
of  Haddington,  and  ah-eady  a  stirring  questionable  gentleman 
of  ambidexterous  ways,  had  been  busy,  privately  intimating 
from  his  great  Cardinal,  that  it  might  be  dangerous  to  hear 
Wishart  and  his  preachings  ;  and  that  prudent  people  would 
do  well  to  stay  away.  The  second  night  Wishart  had  lodged 
at  Lethington,  with  Maitland,  father  of  the  afterwards  notable 
Secretary  Lethington  (a  pleasant  little  twinkle  of  interest  to 
secular  readers) ;  and  the  elder  Lethington,  though  not  him- 
self a  declared  Protestant,  had  been  hospitably  good  and 
gracious  to  Wishart. 

The  tliird  day  he  was  again  appointed  to  preach ;  but, 
says  Knox,  '  before  his  passing  to  the  sermon  there  came  to 
him  a  boy  with  ane  letter  from  the  West  land,' — Ayr  and  the 
other  zealous  shires  in  that  quarter,  in  which  he  had  already 
been  preaching, — '  saying  that  the  gentlemen  there  could  not 
keep  diet  with  him  at  Edinburgh,  as  they  had  formerly  agreed' 
(Hope  that  there  might  have  been  some  Bond  or  engagement 
for  mutual  protection  on  the  part  of  these  Western  Gentle- 
men suddenly  falling  vain  for  poor  Wishart).  Wishart's  spirits 
were  naturally  in  deep  depression  at  this  news,  and  at  such  a 
silence  of  the  old  zeal  all  round  him  ;  all  the  world  seeming 
to  forsake  him,  and  only  the  Cardinal's  assassin  tracking  him 
with  continual  menace  of  death.  He  called  for  Knox,  '  who 
had  awaited  upon  him  carefully  from  the  time  he  came  to 
Lothian ;  with  whom  he  began  to  enter  in  purpose '  (to  enter 
on  discourse),  '  that  he  wearied  of  the  world  ;  for  he  perceived 
that  men  began  to  weary  of  God,'  Knox,  '  wondering  that 
he  desired  to  keep  any  purpose  before  Sermon  (for  that  was 
never  his  accustomed  use  before),  said,  "  Sir,  the  time  of 
Sermon  approaches  :  I  will  leave  you  for  the  present  to  your 
meditation  " ;  and  so  took  the  letter  foresaid,  and  left  him. 
The  said  Maister  George  paced  up  and  down  behind  the  high 
altar  more  than  half  an  hour  :  his  very  countenance  and  visage 

VOL.    V,  Y 


338      THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX 

declared  the  grief  and  alteration  of  his  mind.  At  last  he 
passed  to  the  pulpit,  but  the  auditure  was  small.  He  should 
have  beo;un  to  have  entreated  the  Second  Table  of  the  Law ; 
but  thereof  in  that  sermon,  he  spake  very  little,  but  began  on 
this  manner  :  "  0  Lord,  how  long  shall  it  be,  that  thy  holy 
word  shall  be  despised,  and  men  shall  not  regard  their  own 
salvation  ?  I  have  heard  of  thee,  Haddington,  that  in  thee 
would  have  been  at  ane  vain  Clerk  Play"  (Mystery  Play)  "  two 
or  three  thousand  people  ;  and  now  to  hear  the  messenger  of 
the  Eternal  God,  of  all  thy  town  or  parish,  can  not  be 
numbered  a  hundred  persons.  Sore  and  fearful  shall  the' 
plagues  be  that  shall  ensue  this  thy  contempt :  with  fire 
and  sword  thou  shalt  be  plagued ;  yea,  thou  Haddington,  in 
special,  strangers  shall  possess  thee,  and  you  the  present 
inhabitants  shall  either  in  bondage  serve  your  enemies  or  else 
ye  shall  be  chased  from  your  own  habitation,  and  that  because 
ye  have  not  known,  nor  will  not  know,  the  time  of  God's 
merciful  visitation."  In  such  vehemency,  and  threatenings 
continued  that  servant  of  God  near  an  hour  and  a  half,  in 
the  which  he  declared  all  the  plagues  that  ensued,  as  plainly, 
as  after '  (qfierzcards)  '  our  eyes  saw  them  performed.  In  the 
end  he  said,  "  I  have  forgotten  myself  and  the  matter  that  I 
should  have  entreated  ;  but  let  these  my  last  words  as  con- 
cerning public  preaching,  remain  in  your  minds,  till  that  God 
send  you  new  comfort.*"  Thereafter  he  made  a  short  para- 
phrase upon  the  Second  Table  of  the  Law,  with  an  exhortation 
to  patience,  to  the  fear  of  God,  and  unto  the  works  of  mercy; 
and  so  put  end,  as  it  were,  making  his  last  testament.*'  ^ 

The  same  night  on  Wisharfs  departing  from  Haddington, 
*  he  took  his  good-night,  as  it  were  forever  of  all  his  acquaint- 
ance,' says  Knox, '  especially  from  Hew  Douglas  of  Langniddry. 
John  Knox  pressing  to  have  gone  with  him,  he  said,  "  Nay, 
return  to  your  bairnes  *'*'  (pupils) ;  "  and  God  bless  you.  One 
is  sufficient  for  one  sacrifice.*"  And  so  he  caused  a  twa-handed 
sword  (which  commonly  was  carried  with  the  said  Maister 
^  Works  of  Knox,  i.  pp.  137-8. 


THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX      339 

George)  be  taken  from  the  said  John  Knox,  who,  albeit 
unwillingly,  obeyed,  and  returned  with  Hew  Douglas  to  Lang- 
niddry,' — never  to  see  his  face  more.  'Maister  George,  having 
to  accompany  him,  the  Laird  of  Ormeston,  John  Sandilands 
of  Gaidar  younger'  {Ancestor  of  the  nozv  Lords  Torphkhen) 
'  the  Laird  of  Brounstoun  and  others,  with  their  servants, 
passed  upon  foot  (for  it  was  a  vehement  frost)  to  Ormeston.' 

In  a  couple  of  hours  after,  Bothwell,  with  an  armed  party, 
surrounded  Ormiston  ;  got  Wishart  delivered  to  him,  upon 
solemn  pledge  of  his  oath  and  of  his  honour  that  no  harm 
should  be  done  him  ;  and  that  if  the  Cardinal  should  threaten 
any  harm  against  Wishart,  he,  Bothwell,  would  with  his  whole 
strength,  and  of  his  own  power,  redeliver  him  safe  in  this 
place.  Whereupon,  without  battle  or  struggle,  he  was  per- 
mitted to  depart  with  Wishart ;  delivered  him  straightway  to 
the  Cardinal, — who  was  expressly  waiting  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, and  at  once  rolled  off  with  him  to  Edinburgh  Castle, 
soon  after  to  the  Castle  of  St.  Andrews  (to  the  grim  old 
oubliette  a  la  Louis  xi.,  still  visible  there)  ;  and,  in  a  month 
more  to  death  by  the  gallows  and  by  fire.  This  was  one  of 
the  first  still  conspicuous  foul  deeds  of  Patrick  Hepburn,  Earl 
of  Bothwell,  in  this  world,  who  in  his  time  did  so  many. 
The  memory  of  all  this  had  naturally  in  Knox's  mind  a  high 
and  mournful  beauty,  all  the  rest  of  his  life.  Wishart  came 
to  St.  Andrews  in  the  end  of  January  1546,  and  was  merci- 
lessly put  to  death  there  on  the  first  of  March  following. 

Connected  unexpectedly  with  the  tragic  end  of  Wishart,  and 
in  singular  contrast  to  it,  here  is  another  excerpt,  illustrating 
another  side  of  Knox's  mind.  It  describes  a  fight  between 
the  Crozier-bearers  of  Dunbar  Archbishop  of  Glasgow  and  of 
Cardinal  Beaton. 

'The  Cardinal  was  known  proud  ;  and  Dumbar,  Archbishop 
of  Glasgow,  was  known  a  glorious  fool ;  and  yet  because  some- 
times he  was  called  the  King's  IMaister'  {had  been  tutor  to 
James  F.),  '  he  was  chancellor  of  Scotland.  The  Cardinal 
comes  even  this  same  year,  in  the  end  of  harvest,  to  Glasgow  ; 


340      THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX 

upon  what  purpose  we  omit-  But  while  they  remain  together, 
the  one  in  the  town,  and  the  other  in  the  Castle,  question 
rises  for  bearing  of  their  croces '  (croziers).  '  The  Cardinal 
alledged,  by  reason  of  his  Cardinalship,  and  that  he  was 
Legatus  Natiis  and  Primate  within  Scotland  in  the  Kingdom 
of  Antichrist,  that  he  should  have  the  pre-eminence,  and  that 
his  croce  should  not  only  go  before,  but  that  also,  it  should 
only  be  borne  wheresoever  he  was.  Good  Gukstoun  Glaik- 
stour '  (Gozokston  Madster)  '  the  foresaid  Ai'ehbishop,  lacked 
no  reasons,  as  he  thought,  for  maintenance  of  his  glorie : 
He  was  ane  Archbishop  in  his  own  diocese,  and  in  his  awn 
Cathedral  seat  and  Church,  and  therefore  aught  to  give  place 
to  no  man :  the  power  of  the  Cardinal  was  but  begged  from 
Rome,  and  appertained  but  to  his  own  person,  and  not  to  his 
bishoprick ;  for  it  might  be  that  his  successor  should  not  be 
Cardinal.  But  Ms  dignity  was  annexed  with  his  office,  and 
did  appertain  to  all  that  ever  should  be  Bishops  of  Glasgow. 
Howsoever  these  doubts  were  resolved  by  the  doctors  of  divinity 
of  both  the  Prelates,  yet  the  decision  was  as  ye  shall  hear. 
Coming  forth  (or  going  in,  all  is  one),  at  the  queir-door' 
{choir -door)  '  of  Glasgow  Kirk  begins  a  striving  for  state 
betwixt  the  two  croce-bearers,  so  that  from  glooming  they 
come  to  shouldering ;  from  shouldering  they  go  to  buffets, 
and  from  dry  blaws  by  neffis  and  neffelling  '  {Jists  and  Jistkiiff- 
ing) ;  '  and  then  for  charity's  sake,  they  cry  Dispersit  dedit 
pauperihus ;  and  assay  which  of  the  croces  was  finest  metal, 
which  staff  was  strongest,  and  which  bearer  could  best  defend 
his  maister's  pre-eminence,  and  that  there  should  be  no 
superiority  in  that  behalf,  to  the  ground  goes  both  the  croces. 
And  then  began  no  little  fray,  but  yet  a  merry  game ;  for 
rockets  ■*  {r-ochets)  '  were  rent,  tippets  were  torn,  crowns  were 
knapped '  {cracked),  'and  side'  {long)  '  gowns  micht  have  been 
seen  wantonly  wag  from  the  one  wall  to  the  other. — Many  of 
them  lacked  beards  and  that  was  the  more  pity ;  and  there- 
fore could  not  buckle  other'  {each  other)  'by  the  byrse'  (bristles, 
■ — hair  or  beard),  '  as  bold  men  would  have  done.      But  fy  on 


THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX      341 

the  jackmen  that  did  not  their  duty  ;  for  had  the  one  part 
of  them  rencountered  the  other,  then  had  all  gone  richt. 
But  the  sanctuary,  we  suppose,  saved  the  lives  of  many.  How 
merilie  soever  this  be  written,  it  was  bitter  bourding '  (mirth) 
'  to  the  Cardinal  and  his  court.  It  was  more  than  irregularity; 
yea  it  micht  weel  have  been  judged  lease-majesty  to  the  son 
of  perdition,  the  Pape's  awn  person ;  and  yet  the  other  in  his 
folly,  as  proud  as  a  pacock,  would  let  the  Cardinal  know  that 
he  was  Bishop  when  the  other  was  but  Beaton  before  he  gat 
Abirbrothok  '  {Abbacy  of  Arbroath  in  1523,  twenty-ttvo  years 
ago^from  his  uncle, — imcle  retaining  half  of  the  revenues)} 

This  happened  on  the  4th  June  1545  ;  and  seemed  to 
have  planted  perpetual  enmity  between  these  two  Church 
dignitaries  ;  and  yet,  before  the  end  of  February  following, 
— Pope's  Legate  Beaton  being  in  immediate  need  of  Right 
Revd.  Gowkston's  signature  for  the  burning  of  martyr  Wishart 
at  St.  Andrews, — these  two  servants  of  His  Infernal  Majesty 
were  brought  to  a  cordial  reconcilement,  and  brotherhood  in 
doing  their:  father's  will ;  no  less  a  miracle,  says  Knox,  than 
'  took  place  at  the  accusation  and  death  of  Jesus  Christ,  when 
Pilate  and  Herod,  who  before  were  enemies,  were  made  friends 
by  consenting  of  them  both  to  Chrisfs  condemnation  ;  sole 
distinction  being  that  Pilate  and  Herod  were  brethren  in  the 
estate  called  Temporal,  and  these  two,  of  whom  we  now 
speak,  were  brethren  (sons  of  the  same  father,  the  Devil)  in 
the  Estate  Ecclesiastical."' 

It  was  on  the  1st  March  1546  that  the  noble  and  gentle 
Wishart  met  his  death  ;  in  the  last  days  of  February  that 
Archbishop  Gowkston  reconciled  himself  to  co-operate  with 
Pilate  Beaton  Legatus  Natiis : — three  months  hence  that  the 
said  Pilate  Beaton,  amazing  Hinge  of  the  Church,  was  stolen 
in  upon  in  his  now  well-nigh  impregnable  castle  of  St.  Andrews, 
and  met  his  stern  quietus.  "  I  am  a  priest,  I  am  a  priest : 
fy,  fy  :  all  is  gone  ! "  were  the  last  words  he  spoke.  Knox's 
narrative  of  all  this  is  of  a  most  perfect  historical  perspicuity 

^   Works  of  Knox,  i.  pp.  14S-7. 


342      THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN   KNOX 

and  business-like  brevity  ;  and  omitting  no  particular,  neither 
that  of  buxom  '  Marion  Ogilvy  '  and  her  peculiar  services,  nor 
that  of  Melvin,  the  final  swordsman,  who  *  stroke  him  twyse 
or  thrise  through  with  a  stog-sweard,'  after  his  notable  rebuke 
to  Lesley  and  him  for  their  unseemly  choler.^  He  carefully 
abstains  from  any  hint  of  criticism  pro  or  contra  on  the  grim 
transaction  ;  though  one  sees  evidently  that  the  inward  feeling 
was  that  of  deliverance  from  a  hideous  nightmare,  pressing  on 
the  soul  of  Knox  and  the  eternal  interests  of  Scotland. 

Knox  individually  had  not  the  least  concern  with  this  affair 
of  Beaton,  nor  for  eight  or  ten  months  more  did  he  personally 
come  in  contact  with  it  at  all.  But  ever  since  the  capture 
of  Wishart,  the  position  of  Knox  at  Langniddry  had  become 
insecure  ;  and  on  rumour  after  rumour  of  peril  approaching, 
he  had  been  forced  to  wander  about  from  one  covert  to  another, 
with  his  three  pupils ;  till  at  length  their  two  fathers  had 
agreed  that  he  should  go  with  them  to  the  castle  of  St. 
Andrews,  literally  at  that  time  the  one  sure  refuge ;  siege  of 
it  by  poor  Arran,  or  the  Duke  of  Chatelherault  as  he  after- 
wards became,  evidently  languishing  away  into  utter  futility ; 
and  the  place  itself  being,  what  the  late  Cardinal  fancied  he 
had  made  it,  impregnable  to  any  Scottish  force.  He  arrived 
there  with  his  pupils  10  April  1547;  and  was  before  long, 
against  his  will  or  expectation,  drawn  into  a  height  of  nota- 
bility in  public  affairs,  from  which  he  never  rested  more  while 
his  life  lasted, — two-and-twenty  years  of  such  labours  and 
perils  as  no  other  Scottish  man  went  through  in  that  epoch, 
till  death  set  him  free. 

Beaton''s  body  was  already  for  the  last  nine  or  ten  months 
lying  salted  in  the  sea-tower  oubliette,  waiting  some  kind  of 
Christian  burial.  The  '  Siege  ^  had  dwindled  into  plain  im- 
potency  of  loose  blockade,  and  even  to  pretence  of  treaty  on 
the  Regent's  part.  Knox  and  his  pupils  were  in  safety  in 
castle  and  town  ;  and  Knox  tells  us  that  '  he  began  to  exercise 
them  '  (his  pupils)  '  after  his  accustomed  manner.  Besides 
1   Works  of  Knox,  i.  pp.  174-7. 


THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX     343 

grammar,  and  other  humane  authors,  he  read  unto  them  a 
catechism,  account  whereof  he  caused  them  give  publicly  in  the 
parish  Kirk  of  St.  Andrews.  He  read  moreover  unto  them 
the  Evangel  of  John,  proceeding  where  he  left  at  his  depart- 
ing from  Langniddry,  where  before  his  residence  was ;  and 
that  Lecture  he  read  in  the  chapel,  within  the  castle  at  a 
certain  hour.  They  of  the  place,  but  especially  Maister 
Henry  Balnaves  and  John  Rough,  preacher,  perceiving  the 
manner  of  his  doctrine,  began  earnestly  to  travail  with  him, 
that  he  would  take  the  preaching  place  upon  him.  But  he 
utterly  refused,  alleging  "  That  he  would  not  ryne  where  God 
had  not  called  him ; "  meaning  that  he  would  do  nothing 
without  a  lawful  vocation. 

'  Whereupon  they  privily  among  themselves  advising,  having 
with  them  in  council  Sir  David  Lindsay  of  the  Mount,  they 
concluded  that  they  would  give  a  charge  to  the  said  John,  and 
that  publicly  by  the  mouth  of  their  preacher.'  Which  accord- 
ingly with  all  solemnity  was  done  by  the  said  Rough,  after 
an  express  sermon  on  the  Election  of  Ministers,  and  what 
power  lay  in  the  call  of  the  congregation,  how  small  soever, 
upon  any  man  discerned  by  them  to  have  in  him  the  gifts  of 
God.  John  Rough  'directed  his  words  to  the  said  John, 
charging  him  to  refuse  not  the  holy  vocation  of  preaching, 
even  as  he  hoped  to  avoid  God's  heavy  displeasure  ;  and  turn- 
ing to  the  congregation,  asked  them,  "Was  not  this  your 
charge  to  me  ?  and  do  ye  not  approve  this  vocation  ?  "  They 
answered  «'  It  was ;  and  we  approve  it."  Whereat  the  said 
John,  abashed,  burst  forth  in  most  abundant  tears,  and  with- 
drew himself  to  his  chamber.  His  countenance  and  behaviour, 
from  that  day  till  the  day  that  he  was  compelled  to  present 
himself  to  the  public  place  of  preaching,  did  sufficiently  declare 
the  grief  and  trouble  of  his  heart ;  for  no  man  saw  any  sign 
of  mirth  in  him,  neither  yet  had  he  pleasure  to  accompany 
any  man,  many  days  together.'' 

In  its  rude  simplicity  this  surely  is  a  notable  passage  in  the 
history  of  such  a  man,  and  has  a  high  and  noble  meaning  in  it. 


344      THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX 

About  two  months  after  Knox's  being  called  to  the  ministry 
in  this  manner,  a  French  fleet  '  with  an  army  the  like  whereof 
was  never  seen  in  that  firth  before,  came  within  sight  of  St. 
Andrews/ — likely  to  make  short  work  of  the  Castle  there  ! 
To  the,  no  doubt,  great  relief  of  Arran  and  the  Queen 
Dowager,  who  all  this  while  had  been  much  troubled  by  cries 
and  complaints  from  the  Priests  and  Bishops.  After  some 
days  of  siege, — '  the  pest  within  the  castle,'  says  Knox,  '  alarm- 
ing some  more  than  the  French  force  without,'  and  none  of 
the  expected  help  from  England  arriving,  the  besieged,  on  the 
31st  July  1547,  surrendered  St.  Andrews  Castle-  prisoners 
to  France,  high  and  low,  but  with  shining  promises  of  freedom 
and  good  treatment  there,  which  promises,  however,  were  not 
kept  by  the  French ;  for  on  reaching  Rouen,  '  the  principal 
gentlemen,  who  looked  for  freedom,  were  dispersed  and  put  in 
sundry  prisons.  The  rest '  (Knox  among  them)  '  were  left  in 
the  gallies,  and  there  miserable  entreated.' 

There  are  two  luminous  little  incidents  connected  with  this 
grim  time,  memorable  to  all.  Knox  describes,  and,  also,  it  is 
not  doubted,  is  the  hero  of  the  scene  which  follows  : 

*  These  that  were  in  the  gallies  were  threatened  with  tor- 
ments, if  they  would  not  give  reverence  to  the  Mass,  for  at 
certain  times  the  Mass  was  said  in  the  galley,  or  else  heard 
upon  the  shore,  in  presence  of  the  forsaris '  {formats) ;  '  but 
they  could  never  make  the  poorest  of  that  company  to  give 
reverence  to  that  idol.  Yea,  when  upon  the  Saturday  at 
night,  they  sang  their  Salve  Reg'ma,  the  whole  Scottishmen 
put  on  their  caps,  their  hoods  or  such  thing  as  they  had  to 
cover  their  heads  ;  and  when,  that  others  were  compelled  to 
kiss  a  paynted  brod '  {hoard,  hit  of  wood)  '  which  they  call 
Nostre  Dame  they  were  not  pressed  after  once ;  for  this  was 
the  chance.  Soon  after  the  arrival  at  Nances '  {Nantes)  '  their 
great  Salve  was  sung,  and  a  glorious  painted  Lady  was  brought 
in  to  be  kissed,  and  among  others,  was  presented  to  one  of 
the  Scottishmen  then  chained.  He  gently  said,  "Trouble  me 
not,  such  ane  idole  is  accursed  ;  and  therefore  I  will  not  touch 


THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX      345 

it."  The  Patron  and  the  Arguesyn '  {Argousin,  Serjeant  who 
commands  the  Jv7yats)  '  with  two  officers,  having  the  chief 
charge  of  all  such  matters,  said,  "Thou  shalt  handle  it";  and 
so  they  violently  thrust  it  to  his  face,  and  put  it  betwixt  his 
hands ;  who  seeing  the  extremity,  took  the  idol  and  advisedly 
looking  about,  cast  it  in  the  river,  and  said,  "  Let  our  Lady 
now  saif  herself ;  she  is  licht  aneuch  ;  let  her  learn  to  swim." 
After  that  was  no  Scottish  man  urged  with  that  idolatry.'  ^ 

Within  year  and  day  the  French  galleys, — Knox  still 
chained  in  them, — reappeared  in  St.  Andrews  Bay,  part  of 
a  mighty  French  fleet  with  6000  hardy,  experienced  French 
soldiers,  and  their  necessary  stores  and  furnitures, — come  with 
full  purpose  to  repair  the  damages  Protector  Somerset  had 
done  by  Pinkie  Battle,  and  to  pack  the  English  well  home  ; 
and,  indeed,  privately,  to  secure  Scotland  for  themselves  and 
their  Guises,  and  keep  it  as  an  open  French  road  into  England 
thenceforth.  They  first  tried  Broughty  Castle  with  a  few 
shots,  where  the  English  had  left  a  garrison,  which  gave  them 
due  return  ;  but  without  farther  result  there.  Knox's  galley 
seems  to  have  been  lying  not  far  from  Broughty ;  Knox  him- 
self, with  a  notable  '  Maister  James  Balfour"*  close  by  him; 
utterly  foredone  in  body,  and  thought  by  his  comrades  to  be 
dying,  when  the  following  small,  but  noteworthy  passage 
occurred. 

'  The  said  Maister  James  and  John  Knox  being  intil  one 
galley  and  being  wondrous  familiar  with  him '  (Knox)  '  would 
often  times  ask  his  judgment,  "  If  he  thought  that  ever  they 
should  be  delivered  ? "  Whose  answer  was  ever,  fra  the  day 
that  they  entered  in  the  gallayis,  "  That  God  wald  deliver 
them  from  that  bondage,  to  his  glorie,  even  in  this  lyef."  And 
lying  betwixt  Dundee  and  St.  Andrews,  the  second  time  that 
the  gallayis  returned  to  Scotland,  the  said  John  being  so 
extremely  seak'  (sick)  '  that  few  hoped  his  life,  the  said  Maister 
James  willed  him  to  look  to  the  land,  and  asked  if  he  knew 
it  ?  Who  answered,  "  Yes  :  I  knaw  it  weel ;  for  I  see  the 
1  Works  of  Knox,  i.  p.  227. 


346      THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX 

stepill "  {steeple)  "  of  that  place,  where  God  first  in  pubhc 
opened  my  mouth  to  his  glorie,  and  I  am  fully  persuaded, 
how  weak  that  ever  I  now  appear,  that  I  shall  not  depart 
this  lyeff,  till  that  my  tongue  shall  glorifie  his  godlie  name 
in  the  same  place.'"*  This  reported  the  said  Maister  James, 
in  presence  of  many  famous  witness,  many  years  before  that 
ever  the  said  John  set  futt  in  Scotland,  this  last  time  to 
preache." 

Knox  sat  nineteen  months,  chained,  as  a  galley  slave  in 
this  manner ;  or  else,  as  at  last  for  some  months,  locked  up 
in  the  prison  of  Rouen  ;  and  of  all  his  woes,  dispiritments, 
and  intolerabilities,  says  no  word  except  the  above  '  miserable 
entreated.'  But  it  seems  hope  shone  in  him  in  the  thickest 
darkness,  refusing  to  go  out  at  all.  The  remembrance  of 
which  private  fact  was  naturally  precious  and  priceless  all 
the  rest  of  his  life. 

The  actual  successes  of  these  6000  veteran  French  were 
small  compared  with  their  expectations  ;  the  weary  siege  of 
Haddington,  where  Somerset  had  left  a  garrison,  not  very 
wisely  thought  military  critics,  they  had  endless  difficulties 
with,  and,  but  for  the  pest  among  the  townsfolk  and  garrison, 
were  never  like  to  have  succeeded  in.  The  fleet,  however, 
stood  gloriously  out  to  sea ;  and  carried  home  a  prize,  they 
themselves  might  reckon  next  to  inestimable, — the  royal  little 
Mary,  age  six,  crowned  five  years  ago  Queen  of  Scots,  and  now 
covenanted  to  wed  the  Dauphin  of  France,  and  be  brought  up 
in  that  country,  with  immense  advantage  to  the  same.  They 
steered  northward  by  the  Pentland  Firth,  then  round  by  the 
Hebrides  and  West  coast  of  Ireland,  prosperously  through  the 
summer  seas ;  and  by  about  the  end  of  July  1548,  their  jewel 
of  a  child  was  safe  in  St.  Germain-en-I.aye:  the  brightest  and 
bonniest  little  Maid  in  all  the  world, — setting  out,  alas, 
towards  the  blackest  destiny  ! — 

Most  of  this  winter  Knox  sat  in  the  prison  of  Rouen,  busy 
commentating,  prefacing,  and  trimming  out  a  Book  on  Pro- 
testant  Theology,    by    his    friend    Balnaves ;    and    anxiously 


THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX     347 

expecting  his  release  from  this  Frencli  slavery,  which  hope, 
by  help  of  English  Ambassadors,  and  otherwise,  did  at 
length,  after  manifold  difficulties,  find  fulfilment. 

In  the  spring  of  the  next  year,  Knox,  Balnaves  of  Hallhill, 
Kirkcaldy  of  Grange,  and  the  other  exiles  of  St.  Andrews, 
found  themselves  safe  in  England,  under  the  gracious  pro- 
tection of  King  Edward  vi. ;  Knox  especially  under  that  of 
Archbishop  Cranmer,  who  naturally  at  once  discerned  in  him 
a  valuable  missionary  of  the  new  Evangelical  Doctrine  ;  and 
immediately  employed  him  to  that  end. 

Knox  remained  in  England  some  five  years;  he  was  first 
appointed,  doubtless  at  Cranmer"'s  instigation,  by  the  English 
Council,  Preacher  in  Berwick  and  neighbourhood ;  thence, 
about  a  year  after,  in  Newcastle.  In  1551  he  was  made  one 
of  the  Six  Chaplains  to  Edward,  who  were  appointed  to  go 
about  all  over  England  spreading  abroad  the  reformed  faith, 
which  the  people  were  then  so  eager  to  hear  news  of.  His 
preaching  was,  by  the  serious  part  of  the  community,  received 
with  thankful  approbation  ;  and  he  had  made  warm  friends 
among  that  class ;  and  naturally,  also,  given  offence  to  the 
lukewarm  or  half-and-half  Protestants  ;  especially  to  Tonstall, 
Bishop  of  Durham,  for  his  too  great  detestation  of  the  Mass. 
To  the  Council,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  clear  that  he  rose  in 
value ;  giving  always  to  them,  when  summoned  on  such  com- 
plaints, so  clear  and  candid  an  account  of  himself.  In  the 
third  year  of  his  abode  in  England,  1552,  he  was  offered  by 
them  the  Bishopric  of  Rochester ;  but  declined  it,  and,  soon 
after,  the  living  of  Allhallows,  Bread  Street,  London,  which 
also  he  declined.  On  each  of  these  occasions  he  was  again 
summoned  by  the  King's  Council  to  give  his  reasons  ;  and 
again  gave  them, — Church  in  England  not  yet  sufficiently  re- 
formed ;  too  much  of  vestments  and  of  other  Popish  fooleries 
remaining ;  bishops  or  pastors  without  the  due  power  to 
correct  their  flock  which  every  pastor  ought  to  have ; — was 
again  dismissed  by  the  Council,  without  censure,  to  continue 
in  his  former  employment,  where,  he  said,  his  persuasion  was 


348      THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX 

that  he  could   be  more  useful  than  preaching  in  London  or 
presiding  at  Rochester. 

Knox  many  times  lovingly  celebrates  the  young  Protestant 
King,  and  almost  venerates  him,  as  one  clearly  sent  of  God 
for  the  benefit  of  these  realms,  and  of  all  good  men  there  ; 
regarding  his  early  death  as  a  heavy  punishment  for  the  sins 
of  the  people.  It  was  on  the  6th  July  1553  that  Edward 
died  ;  and  in  the  course  of  that  same  year  Knox  with  many 
other  Protestants,  clergy  and  laity,  had  to  leave  England,  to 
avoid  the  too  evident  intentions  of  Bloody  Mary,  so  soon 
culminating;  in  her  fires  of  Smithfield  and  marriag-e  with 
Philip  II.  Knox  seems  to  have  lingered  to  the  very  last ;  his 
friends,  he  says,  had  to  beseech  him  with  tears,  almost  to 
force  him  away.  He  was  leaving  many  that  were  dear  to 
him,  and  to  whom  he  was  dear;  amongst  others  Marjory 
Bowes,  who  (by  the  earnest  resolution  of  her  mother)  was 
now  betrothed  to  him  ;  and  his  ulterior  course  was  as  dark 
and  desolate  as  it  could  well  be.  From  Dieppe,  where  he 
first  landed  on  crossing  the  Channel,  he  writes  much  of  his 
heartfelt  grief  at  the  dismal  condition  of  affairs  in  England, 
truly  more  afflicting  than  that  of  native  Scotland  itself;  and 
adds  on  one  occasion,  with  a  kind  of  sparkle  of  disdain,  in 
reference  to  his  own  poor  wants  and  troubles : 

'  I  will  not  mak  you  privy  how  rich  I  am,  but  off" '  {Jr-om) 
'London  I  departit  with  less  money  than  ten  groats;  but  God 
has  since  provided,  and  will  provide,  I  doubt  not,  hereafter 
abundantly  for  this  life.  Either  the  Queen's  Majesty'  {of 
England)  '  or  some  Treasurer  will  be  xi,  pounds  richer  by 
me,  for  so  meikle  lack  I  of  duty  of  my  patents'  {year''s  salary 
as  Royal  Chaplain).      'But  that  little  troubles  me,' 

From  Dieppe,  in  about  a  month,  poor  Knox  wandered 
forth,  to  look  into  the  churches  of  Switzerland, — French 
Huguenots,  Good  Samaritans,  it  is  like,  lodging  and  further- 
ing him  through  France.  He  was,  for  about  five  months. 
Preacher  at  Frankfort-on-Mayn,  to  a  Church  of  English  exiles 
there  ;  from  which,  by  the  violence  of  certain  intrusive  High- 


THE    PORTRAITS    OF   JOHN    KNOX      349 

Church  parties,  as  we  may  style  them,  met  by  a  great  and 
unexpected  patience  on  the  part  of  Knox,  he  felt  constrained 
to  depart, — followed  by  the  less  ritual  portion  of  his  auditory. 
He  reached  Geneva  (April  1555);  and,  by  aid  of  Calvin  and 
the  general  willing  mind  of  the  city  magistrates,  there  was 
a  spacious  (quondam  Papist)  Church  conceded  him  ;  where 
for  about  three  years,  not  continuous,  but  twice  or  oftener 
interrupted  by  journeys  to  Dieppe,  and,  almost  one  whole 
year,  by  a  visit  to  Scotland,  he,  loyally  aided  by  one  Good- 
man, an  English  colleague  or  assistant,  preached  and  admin- 
istered to  his  pious  and  otherwise  forlorn  Exiles,  greatly  to 
their  comfort,  as  is  still  evident.  In  Scotland  (November 
1555 — July  1556)  he  laboured  incessantly,  kindling  the 
general  Protestant  mind  into  new  zeal  and  new  clearness  of 
resolve  for  action,  when  the  time  should  come.  He  had  many 
private  conferences  in  Edinburgh ;  much  preaching,  publicly 
in  various  towns,  oftener  privately,  in  well-afFected  mansions 
of  the  aristocracy ;  and  saw  plainly  the  incipient  filaments 
of  what  by  and  by  became  so  famous  and  so  all-important, 
as  the  National  '  Covenant '  and  its  '  Lords  of  the  Congrega- 
tion.'  His  Marjory  Bowes,  in  the  meanwhile,  he  had  wedded. 
Marjory's  pious  mother  and  self  were  to  be  with  him  hence- 
forth,— over  seas  at  Geneva,  first  of  all.  For  summons,  in 
an  earnest  and  even  solemn  tone,  coming  to  him  from  his 
congregation  there,  he  at  once  prepared  to  return  ;  quitted 
Scotland,  he  and  his  ;  leaving  promise  with  his  future  Lords 
of  the  Congregation,  that  on  the  instant  of  signal  from  them 
he  would  reappear  there. 

In  1557,  the  Scotch  Protestant  Lords  did  give  sign;  upon 
Avhich  Knox,  with  sorrowing  but  hopeful  heart,  took  leave  of 
his  congregation  at  Geneva ;  but  was  met,  at  Dieppe,  by 
contrary  message  from  Scotland,  to  his  sore  grief  and  dis- 
appointment. As  Mr.  Laing  calculates,  he  occupied  his 
forced  leisure  there  by  writing  his  widely  offensive  First  Blast 
against  the  monstrous  Regiment  of  Women, — of  which  strange 
book  a  word  farther  presently.     Having  blown  this  wild  First 


350      THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX 

Blast,  and  still  getting  negatory  answers  out  of  Scotland,  he 
returned  to  Geneva  and  his  own  poor  church  there ;  and  did 
not  till  January  1559,  on  brighter  Scotch  tidings  coming, 
quit  that  city, — straight  for  Scotland  this  time,  the  tug  of 
war  now  actually  come.  For  the  quarrel  only  a  few  days 
after  Knox's  arrival  blazed  out  into  open  conflagration,  at 
St.  Johnston's  {hodie  Perth),  with  the  open  fall  of  Dagon  and 
his  temples  there ;  and  no  peace  was  possible  henceforth  till 
either  Mary  of  Guise  and  her  Papist  soldieries  left  Scotland 
or  Christ's  Congregation  and  their  cause  did.  In  about  two 
years  or  less,  after  manifold  vicissitudes,  it  turned  out  that 
it  was  not  Knox  and  his  cause,  but  Queen  Regent  Mary  and 
hers  that  had  to  go.  After  this  Knox  had  at  least  no  more 
wanderings  and  journeyings  abroad  '  in  sore  trouble  of  heart, 
whither  God  knoweth ' ;  though  for  the  twelve  years  that 
remained  there  was  at  home  abundant  labour  and  trouble, 
till  death  in  1572  delivered  him. 

With  regard  to  his  First  Blast  against  the  monstrous 
Regiment  of  Women  (to  which  there  never  was  any  Second, 
though  that  and  even  a  Third  were  confidently  purposed  by 
its  author),  it  may  certainly  be  called  the  least  '  successful '  of 
all  Knox's  writings.  Offence,  and  that  only,  was  what  it  gave 
to  his  silent  friends,  much  more  to  his  loudly  condemnatory 
enemies,  on  its  first  appearance ;  and  often  enough  afterwards 

it  re-emerged  upon  him  as  a  serious  obstacle  in  his  affairs, 

witness  Queen  Elizabeth,  mainstay  of  the  Scottish  Reformation 
itself,  who  never  could  forgive  him  for  that  Blast.  And  now, 
beyond  all  other  writings  of  Knox,  it  is  fallen  obsolete  both 
in  manner  and  in  purport,  to  every  modern  mind.  Unfor- 
tunately, too,  for  any  literary  reputation  Knox  may  have  in 
this  end  of  the  Island,  it  is  written  not  in  the  Scottish,  but 
in  the  common  English  dialect ;  completely  intelligible  there- 
fore to  everybody  :  read  by  many  in  that  time ;  and  still 
likeliest  to  be  the  book  any  English  critic  of  Knox  will  have 
looked  into,  as  his  chief  original  document  about  the  man. 
It  is  written  with  very  great  vehemency;  the  excuse  for  which, 


THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX     351 

so  far  as  it  may  really  need  excuse,  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact 
that  it  was  written  while  the  fires  of  Smithfield  were  still 
blazing,  on  best  of  Bloody  Mary,  and  not  long  after  Mary  of 
Guise  had  been  raised  to  the  Regency  of  Scotland  :  maleficent 
Crowned  Women  these  two,  covering  poor  England  and  poor 
Scotland  with  mere  ruin  and  horror,  in  Knox's  judgment, — 
and  may  we  not  still  say  to  a  considerable  extent  in  that  of 
all  candid  persons  since  ?  The  Book  is  by  no  means  without 
merit ;  has  in  it  various  little  traits,  unconsciously  autobio- 
graphic and  other,  which  are  illuminative  and  interesting. 
One  ought  to  add  withal  that  Knox  was  no  despiser  of 
women  ;  far  the  reverse  in  fact ;  his  behaviour  to  good  and 
pious  women  is  full  of  respect,  and  his  tenderness,  his  patient 
helpfulness  in  their  sufferings  and  infirmities  (see  the  Letters 
to  his  mother-in-law  and  others)  are  beautifully  conspicuous. 
For  the  rest,  his  poor  Book  testifies  to  many  high  intellectual 
qualities  in  Knox,  and  especially  to  far  more  of  learning  than 
has  ever  been  ascribed  to  him,  or  is  anywhere  traceable  in 
his  other  writings.  He  proves  his  doctrine  by  extensive  and 
various  reference, — to  Aristotle,  Justin,  the  Pandects,  the 
Digest,  Tertullian,  Ambrose,  Augustin,  Chrysostom,  Basil  : 
there,  and  nowhere  else  in  his  books,  have  we  direct  proof 
how  studiously  and  profitably  his  early  years,  up  to  the  age 
of  forty,  must  have  been  spent.  A  man  of  much  varied, 
diligent,  and  solid  reading  and  incjuiry,  as  we  find  him  here  ; 
a  man  of  serious  and  continual  meditation  we  might  already 
have  known  him  to  be.  By  his  sterling  veracity,  not  of  word 
only,  but  of  mind  and  of  character,  by  his  sharpness  of  intel- 
lectual discernment,  his  power  of  expression,  and  above  all 
by  his  depth  of  conviction  and  honest  burning  zeal,  one  first 
clearly  judges  what  a  preacher  to  the  then  earnest  populations 
in  Scotland  and  England,  thirsting  for  right  knowledge,  this 
Knox  must  have  been. 

It  may  surprise  many  a  reader,  if  we  designate  John  Knox 
as  a  '  Man  of  Genius ' :  and  truly  it  was  not  with  what  we 
call  '  Literature,'  and  its  harmonies  and  synnnetries,  addressed 


S52     THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX 

to  man's  Imagination,  that  Knox  was  ever  for  an  hour  con- 
cerned; but  with  practical  truths  alone,  addressed  to  man's 
inmost  Belief,  with  immutable  Facts,  accepted  by  him,  if  he 
is  of  loyal  heart,  as  the  daily  voices  of  the  Eternal, — even 
such  in  all  degrees  of  them.  It  is,  therefore,  a  still  higher 
title  than  '  Man  of  Genius  '  that  will  belong  to  Knox ;  that 
of  a  heaven-inspired  seer  and  heroic  leader  of  men.  But  by 
whatever  name  we  call  it,  Knox's  spiritual  endowment  is  of 
the  most  distinguished  class;  intrinsically  capable  of  whatever 
is  noblest  in  literature  and  in  far  higher  things.  His  Books, 
especially  his  History  of  the  Reformation,  if  well  read,  which 
unfortunately  is  not  possible  for  every  one,  and  has  grave 
preliminary  difficulties  for  even  a  Scottish  reader,  still  more 
for  an  English  one,  testify  in  parts  of  them  to  the  finest 
qualities  that  belong  to  a  human  intellect;  still  more  evidently 
to  those  of  the  moral,  emotional,  or  sympathetic  sort,  or  that 
concern  the  religious  side  of  man's  soul.  It  is  really  a  loss 
to  English  and  even  to  universal  literature  that  Knox's  hasty 
and  strangely  interesting,  impressive,  and  peculiar  Book,  called 
the  History  of  the  Reformation  in  Scotland,  has  not  been 
rendered  far  more  extensively  legible  to  serious  mankind  at 
large  than  is  hitherto  the  case. 

There  is  in  it,  when  you  do  get  mastery  of  the  chaotic 
details  and  adherences,  perpetually  distracting  your  attention 
from  the  main  current  of  the  Work,  and  are  able  to  read 
that,  and  leave  the  mountains  of  annotation  victoriously  cut 
off,  a  really  singular  degree  of  clearness,  sharp  just  insight 
and  perspicacity  now  and  then  of  picturesqueness  and  visual- 
ity,  as  if  the  thing  were  set  before  your  eyes ;  and  everywhere 
a  feeling  of  the  most  perfect  credibility  and  veracity  :  that  is 
to  say  altogether,  of  Knox's  high  qualities  as  an  observer  and 
narrator.  His  account  of-  every  event  he  was  present  in  is 
that  of  a  well-discerning  eye-witness.  Things  he  did  not 
himself  see,  but  had  reasonable  cause  and  abundant  means 
to  inquire  into, — battles  even  and  sieges  are  described  with 
something  of  a  Homeric  vigour  and  simplicity.    This  man,  you 


THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX      353 

can  discern,  has  seized  the  essential  elements  of  the  pheno- 
menon, and  done  a  right  portrait  of  it ;  a  man  with  an 
actually  seeing  eye.  The  battle  of  Pinkie,  for  instance,  no- 
where do  you  gain,  in  few  words  or  in  many,  a  clearer  view 
of  it :  the  battle  of  Carberry  Hill,  not  properly  a  fight,  but 
a  whole  day's  waiting  under  mutual  menace  to  fight,  which 
winds  up  the  controversy  of  poor  Mary  with  her  Scottish 
subjects,  and  cuts  off  her  ruffian  monster  of  a  Bothwell,  and 
all  the  monstrosities  cleaving  to  him,  forever  from  her  eyes, 
is  given  with  a  like  impressive  perspicuity. 

The  affair  of  Cupar  Muir,  which  also  is  not  a  battle,  but  a 
more  or  less  unexpected  meeting  on  the  ground  for  mortal 
duel, — especially  unexpected  on  the  Queen  Regent  and  her 
Frenchmen's  part, — remains  memorable,  as  a  thing  one  had 
seen,  to  every  reader  of  Knox.  Not  itself  a  fight,  but  the 
prologue  or  foreshadow  of  all  the  fighting  that  followed. 
The  Queen  Regent  and  her  Frenchmen  had  marched  in 
triumphant  humour  out  of  Falkland,  with  their  artillery 
ahead,  soon  after  midnight,  trusting  to  find  at  St.  Andrews 
the  two  chief  Lords  of  the  Congregation,  the  Earl  of  Argyle 
and  Lord  James  (afterwards  Regent  Murray),  with  scarcely  a 
hundred  men  about  them, — found  suddenly  that  the  hundred 
men,  by  good  industry  over-night,  had  risen  to  an  army;  and 
that  the  Congregation  itself,  under  these  two  Lords,  was  here, 
as  if  by  tryst,  at  mid-distance ;  skilfully  posted,  and  ready 
for  battle  either  in  the  way  of  cannon  or  of  spear.  Sudden 
halt  of  the  triumphant  Falklanders  in  consequence ;  and  after 
that,  a  multifarious  manreuvring,  circling,  and  wheeling,  now 
in  clear  light,  now  hidden  in  clouds  of  mist ;  Scots  standing 
steadfast  on  their  ground,  and  answering  message-trumpets  in 
an  inflexible  manner,  till,  after  many  hours,  the  thing  had 
to  end  in  an  '  appointment,**  truce,  or  offer  of  peace,  and  a 
retreat  to  Falkland  of  the  Queen  Regent  and  her  Frenchmen, 
as  from  an  enter[irise  unexpectedly  impossible.  All  this  is, 
with  luminous  distinctness  and  business-like  simplicity  and 
brevity,  set  forth  bv  Knox  ;    who  hardly  names  himself  at 

VOL.  V.  '^ 


354     THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX 

all ;  and  whose  personal  conduct  in  the  affair  far  excels  in 
merit  all  possible  merit  of  description  of  it ;  this  being 
probably  to  Knox  the  most  agitating  and  perilous  of  all 
the  days  of  his  life.  The  day  was  Monday,  11  June  1559  ; 
yesterday,  Sunday  10th,  at  St.  Andrews,  whither  Knox  had 
hastened  on  summons,  he  preached  publicly  in  the  Kirk  there, 
mindful  of  his  prophecy  from  the  French  galleys,  fifteen  years 
ago,  and  regardless  of  the  truculent  Hamilton,  Archbishop 
and  still  official  ruler  of  the  place ;  who  had  informed  him 
the  night  before  that  if  he  should  presume  to  try  such  a 
thing,  he  (the  truculent  Archbishop)  would  have  him  saluted 
with  '  twelve  culverings,  the  most  part  of  which  would  land 
upon  his  nose."'  The  fruit  of  which  sermon  had  been  the 
sudden  flight  to  Falkland  over -night  of  Right  Reverend 
Hamilton  (who  is  here  again,  much  astonished,  on  Cupar 
Muir  this  day),  and  the  open  declaration  and  arming  of  St. 
Andrews  town  in  favour  of  Knox  and  his  cause. 

The  Queen  Regent,  as  was  her  wont,  only  half  kept  her 
pacific  treaty.  Herself  and  her  Frenchmen  did,  indeed,  retire 
wholly  to  the  south  side  of  the  Forth  ;  quitting  Fife  alto- 
gether ;  but  of  all  other  points  there  was  a  perfect  neglect. 
Her  garrison  refused  to  quit  Perth,  as  per  bargain,  and 
needed  a  blast  or  two  of  siege-artillery,  and  danger  of  speedy 
death,  before  they  would  withdraw  ;  and  a  shrewd  suspicion 
had  risen  that  she  would  seize  Stirling  again,  and  keep  the 
way  open  to  return.  This  last  concern  was  of  prime  import- 
ance ;  and  all  the  more  pressing  as  the  forces  of  the  Congre- 
gation had  nearly  all  returned  home.  On  this  Stirling  affair 
there  is  a  small  anecdote,  not  yet  entirely  forgotten  :  which 
rudely  symbolises  the  spirit  of  the  population  at  that  epoch, 
and  is  worth  giving.  The  Ribbands  of  St.  Johnston  is  or  was 
its  popular  title,  Knox  makes  no  mention  of  it ;  but  we  quote 
from  The  Muse''s  Threnodie,  or  rather  from  the  Annotations 
to  that  poor  doggrel  ;  which  are  by  James  Cant,  and  of 
known  authenticity. 

The  Earl  of  Argyle  and  the  Lord  James,  who  had  private 


THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX      355 

intelligence  on  this  matter,  and  were  deeply  interested  in 
it,  but  without  force  of  their  own,  contrived  to  engage  three 
hundred  staunch  townsmen  of  Perth  to  march  with  them  to 
Stirling  on  a  given  night,  and  do  the  affair  by  stroke  of  hand. 
The  three  hundred  ranked  themselves  accordingly  on  the 
appointed  night  (one  of  the  last  of  June  1559) ;  and  so  fierce 
was  their  humour,  they  had  each,  instead  of  the  scarf  or 
ribband  which  soldiers  then  wore  round  their  neck,  tied  an 
effective  measure  of  rope,  mutely  intimating,  "  If  I  flinch  or 
falter,  let  me  straightway  die  the  death  of  a  dog.'''  They 
were  three  hundred  these  staunch  Townsmen  when  they 
marched  out  of  Perth ;  but  the  country  gathered  to  them 
from  right  and  from  left,  all  through  the  meek  twilight  of 
the  summer  night ;  and  on  reaching  Stirling  they  were  five 
thousand  strong.  The  gates  of  Stirling  were  flung  wide  open, 
then  strictly  barricaded  ;  and  the  French  marching  thither- 
ward out  of  Edinburgh,  had  to  wheel  right  about,  faster  than 
they  came ;  and  in  fact  retreat  swiftly  to  Dunbar ;  and  there 
wait  reinforcement  from  beyond  seas.  This  of  the  three 
hundred  Perth  townsmen  and  their  ropes  was  noised  of  with 
due  plaudits  ;  and,  in  calmer  times,  a  rather  heavy-footed 
joke  arose  upon  it,  and  became  current ;  and  men  would  say 
of  such  and  such  a  scoundrel  worthy  of  the  gallows,  that  he 
deserved  a  St.  Johnston's  ribband.  About  a  hundred  years 
ago,  James  Cant  used  to  see,  in  the  Town-clerk's  office  at 
Perth,  an  old  Picture  of  the  March  of  these  three  hundred 
with  the  ropes  about  their  necks ;  whether  there  still  I  have 
no  account ;  but  rather  guess  the  negative.^ 

The  siege  of  Leith,  which  followed  hereupon,  in  all  its 
details, — especially  the  preface  to  it,  that  sudden  invasion  of 
the  Queen  Regent  and  her  Frenchmen  from  Dunbar,  forcing 
Knox  and  his  Covenanted  Lords  to  take  refuge  in  the  'Quarrel 
Holes '  {quarry  holes),  on  the  Eastern  flank  of  the  Calton  Hill, 
with  Salisbury  Crags  overhanging  it,  what  he  elsewhere  calls 

1  The  Muse's  Threnodie,  by  Mr.  H.  Adamson  (first  printed  in  1638),  edited, 
with  annotations,  by  James  Cant  (Perth,  i774),  PP-  126-7. 


S56     THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX 

'  the  Ciaigs  of  Edinburgh,'  as  their  one  defensible  post  against 
their  French  enemies  :  this  scene,  which  lasted  two  nights 
and  two  days,  till  once  the  French  struck  into  Leith,  and 
began  fortifying,  dwells  deeply  impressed  on  Knox's  memory 
and  feelino;s. 

Besides  this  perfect  clearness,  naivete,  and  almost  uninten- 
tional picturesqueness,  there  are  to  be  found  in  Knox's  swift- 
flowing  History  many  other  kinds  of  '  geniality,'  and  indeed 
of  far  higher  excellences  than  are  wont  to  be  included  under 
that  designation.  The  grand  Italian  Dante  is  not  more  in 
earnest  about  this  inscrutable  Immensity  than  Knox  is.  There 
is  in  Knox  throughout  the  spirit  of  an  old  Hebrew  Prophet, 
such  as  may  have  been  in  Moses  in  the  Desert  at  sight  of  the 
Burning  Bush  ;  spirit  almost  altogether  unique  among  modern 
men,  and  along  with  all  this,  in  singular  neighbourhood  to 
it,  a  sympathy,  a  veiled  tenderness  of  heart,  veiled,  but  deep 
and  of  piercing  vehemence,  and  withal  even  an  inward  gaiety 
of  soul,  alive  to  the  ridicule  that  dwells  in  whatever  is  ridicu- 
lous, in  fact  a  fine  vein  of  humour,  which  is  wanting  in 
Dante. 

The  interviews  of  Knox  with  the  Queen  are  what  one  would 
most  like  to  produce  to  readers ;  but  unfortunately  they  are 
of  a  tone  which,  explain  as  Ave  might,  not  one  reader  in  a 
thousand  could  be  made  to  sympathise  with  or  do  justice  to 
in  behalf  of  Knox.  The  treatment  which  that  young,  beauti- 
ful, and  high  Chief  Personage  in  Scotland  receives  from  the 
rigorous  Knox  would,  to  most  modern  men,  seem  irreverent, 
cruel,  almost  barbarous.  Here  more  than  elsewhere  Knox 
proves  himself, — here  more  than  anywhere  bound  to  do  it, — 
the  Hebrew  Prophet  in  complete  perfection  ;  refuses  to  soften 
any  expression  or  to  call  anything  by  its  milder  name,  or  in 
short  for  one  moment  to  forget  that  the  Eternal  God  and 
His  Word  are  great,  and  that  all  else  is  little,  or  is  nothing ; 
nay,  if  it  set  itself  against  the  Most  High  and  His  Word,  is 
the  one  frightful  thing  that  this  world  exhibits. 


THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KxNOX      357 

He  is  never  in  the  least  ill-tempered  with  Her  jMajesty; 
but  she  cannot  move  him  from  that  fixed  centre  of  all  his 
thoughts  and  actions :  Do  the  will  of  God,  and  tremble  at 
nothing ;  do  against  the  will  of  God,  and  know  that,  in  the 
Immensity  and  the  Eternity  around  you,  there  is  nothing  but 
matter  of  terror.  Nothing  can  move  Knox  here  or  else- 
where from  that  standing-ground  ;  ]io  consideration  of  Queen's 
sceptres  and  armies  and  authorities  of  men  is  of  any  efficacy 
or  dignity  whatever  in  comparison  ;  and  becomes  not  beauti- 
ful but  horrible,  when  it  sets  itself  against  the  Most  High. 

One  Mass  in  Scotland,  he  more  than  once  intimates,  is 
more  terrible  to  him  than  all  the  military  power  of  France, 
or,  as  he  expresses  it,  the  landing  of  ten  thousand  armed  men 
in  any  part  of  this  realm,  would  be.  The  Mass  is  a  daring 
and  unspeakably  frightful  pretence  to  worship  God  by  methods 
not  of  God's  appointing;  open  idolatry  it  is,  in  Knox's  judg- 
ment ;  a  mere  invitation  and  invocation  to  the  wrath  of  God 
to  fall  upon  and  crush  you.  To  a  common,  or  even  to  the 
most  gifted  and  tolerant  reader,  in  these  modern  careless  days, 
it  is  almost  altogether  impossible  to  sympathise  with  Knox's 
horror,  terror,  and  detestation  of  the  poor  old  Hocuspocus 
{Hoc  est  Corpus)  of  a  Mass  ;  but  to  every  candid  reader  it  is 
evident  that  Knox  was  under  no  mistake  about  it,  on  his  own 
ground,  and  that  this  is  verily  his  authentic  and  continual 
feeling  on  the  matter. 

There  are  four  or  five  dialogues  of  Knox  with  the  Queen, — ■ 
sometimes  in  her  own  Palace  at  her  own  request ;  sometimes 
by  summons  of  her  Council ;  but  in  all  these  she  is  sure  to 
come  off  not  with  victory,  but  the  reverse  :  and  Knox  to 
retire  unmoved  from  any  point  of  interest  to  him.  She  will 
not  come  to  public  sermon,  under  any  Protestant  (that  is,  for 
her,  Heretical)  Preacher.  Knox,  whom  she  invites  once  or 
oftener  to  come  privately  to  where  she  is,  and  remonstrate 
with  her,  if  he  find  her  offend  in  anything,  cannot  consent  to 
run  into  back-stairs  of  Courts,  cannot  find  that  he  is  at  liberty 
to  pay  visits  in  that  direction,  or  to  consort  with  Princes  at 


358      THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX 

all.  Marj  often  enough  bursts  into  tears,  oftener  than  once 
into  passionate  long-continued  fits  of  weeping, — Knox  stand- 
ing with  mild  and  pitying  visage,  but  without  the  least  hairs- 
breadth  of  recanting  or  recoiling ;  waiting  till  the  fit  pass, 
and  then  with  all  softness,  but  with  all  inexorability,  taking 
up  his  theme  again.  The  high  and  graceful  young  Queen, 
we  can  well  see,  had  not  met,  nor  did  meet,  in  this  world 
with  such  a  man. 

The  hardest- hearted  reader  cannot  but  be  affected  with 
some  pity,  or  think  with  other  than  softened  feelings  of  this 
ill-starred,  young,  beautiful,  graceful,  and  highly  gifted  human 
creature,  planted  down  into  so  unmanageable  an  environment. 
So  beautiful  a  being,  so  full  of  youth,  of  native  grace  and 
gift ;  meaning  of  herself  no  harm  to  Scotland  or  to  anybody  ; 
joyfully  going  her  Progresses  through  her  dominions ;  fond  of 
hawking,  hunting,  music,  literary  study ;  ^  cheerfully  accept- 
ing every  gift  that  out-door  life,  even  in  Scotland,  can  offer 
to  its  right  joyous-minded  and  ethereal  young  Queen.  With 
irresistible  sympathy  one  is  tempted  to  pity  this  poor  Sister- 
soul,  involved  in  such  a  chaos  of  contradictions ;  and  hurried 
down  to  tragical  destruction  by  them.  No  Clytemnestra  or 
Medea,  when  one  thinks  of  that  last  scene  in  Fotheringay,  is 
more  essentially  a  theme  of  tragedy.  The  tendency  of  all  is 
to  ask,  "  What  peculiar  harm  did  she  ever  mean  to  Scotland, 
or  to  any  Scottish  man  not  already  her  enemy  ? "  The  answer 
to  which  is,  "  Alas,  she  meant  no  harm  to  Scotland ;  was 
perhaps  loyally  wishing  the  reverse  ;  but  was  she  not  with 
her  whole  industry  doing,  or  endeavouring  to  do,  the  sum- 
total  of  all  harm  whatsoever  that  was  possible  for  Scotland, 
namely  the  covering  it  up  in  Papist  darkness,  as  in  an  accursed 
winding-sheet  of  spiritual  death  eternal  ?  *" — That,  alas,  is  the 
dismally  time  account  of  what  she  tended  to,  during  her  whole 
life  in  Scotland   or  in  England  ;    and  there,  with  as  deep  a 

^  '  The  Queen  reac'eth  daily  after  her  dinner,  instructed  by  a  learned  man, 
Mr.  George  Bowhanan,  somewhat  of  Livy. ' — Randolph  to  Cecil,  April  7,  1562 
(cited  in  Irving's  Life  of  Buchanan,  p.  II4). 


THE    PORTRAITS    OF   JOHN    KNOX     359 

tragic  feeling  as  belongs  to  Clytemnestra,  Medea,  or  any  other, 
we  must  leave  her  condemned. 

The  story  of  this  great  epoch  is  nowhere  to  be  found  so 
impressively  narrated  as  in  this  Rook  of  Knox^s ;  a  hasty  loose 
production,  but  grounded  on  the  completest  knowledge,  and 
with  visible  intention  of  setting  down  faithfully  both  the  im- 
perfections of  poor  fallible  men,  and  the  unspeakable  mercies 
of  God  to  this  poor  realm  of  Scotland.  And  truly  the  struggle 
in  itself  was  great,  nearly  unique  in  that  section  of  European 
History ;  and  at  this  day  stands  much  in  need  of  being  far 
better  known  than  it  has  much  chance  of  being  to  the  present 
generation.  I  suppose  there  is  not  now  in  the  whole  world  a 
nobility  and  population  that  would  rise,  for  any  imaginable 
reason,  into  such  a  simple  nobleness  of  resolution  to  do  battle 
for  the  highest  cause  against  the  powers  that  be,  as  those 
Scottish  nobles  and  their  followers  at  that  time  did.  Robert- 
son"'s  account,  in  spite  of  its  clearness,  smooth  regularity,  and 
complete  intelligibility  down  to  the  bottom  of  its  own  shallow 
depths,  is  totallv  dark  as  to  the  deeper  and  interior  meaning 
of  this  great  movement ;  cold  as  ice  to  all  that  is  highest  in 
the  meaning  of  this  phenomenon  ;  which  has  proved  the 
parent  of  endless  blessing  to  Scotland  and  to  all  Scotsmen. 
Robertson's  fine  gifts  have  proved  of  no  avail ;  his  sympathy 
with  his  subject  being  almost  miU,  and  his  aim  mainly  to  be 
what  is  called  impartial,  that  is,  to  give  no  pain  to  any 
prejudice,  and  to  be  intelligible  on  a  first  perusal. 

Scottish  Puritanism,  well  considered,  seems  to  me  distinctly 
the  noblest  and  completest  form  that  the  grand  Sixteenth 
Centui-y  Reformation  anywhere  assumed.  We  may  say  also 
that  it  has  been  by  far  the  most  widely  fruitful  form  ;  for 
in  the  next  century  it  had  produced  English  Cromwellian 
Puritanism,  with  open  Rible  in  one  hand,  drawn  Sword  in  the 
other,  and  victorious  foot  trampling  on  Romish  Rabylon,  that 
is  to  say  irrevocably  refusing  to  believe  what  is  not  a  Fact 
in  God's  Universe,  but  a  mingled  mass  of  self-delusions  and 


360     THE    PORTRAITS    OF   JOHN   KNOX 

mendacities  in  the  region  of  Chimera.  So  that  now  we  look 
for  the  effects  of  it  not  in  Scotland  only,  or  in  our  small 
British  Islands  only,  but  over  wide  seas,  huge  American 
continents  and  growing  British  Nations  in  every  zone  of  the 
earth.  And,  in  brief,  shall  have  to  admit  that  John  Knox, 
the  authentic  Prometheus  of  all  that,  has  been  a  most  dis- 
tinguished Son  of  Adam,  and  had  probably  a  physiognomy 
worth  looking  at.  We  have  still  one  Portrait  of  him  to 
produce,  the  Somerville  Portrait  so -named,  widely  different 
fi-om  the  Beza  Icon  and  its  progeny  ;  and  will  therewith  close. 

Ill 

In  1836  the  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of  Useful  Knowledge, 
or  the  late  Charles  Knight  in  the  name  of  that,  published  an 
engraving  of  a  Portrait  which  had  not  before  been  heard  of 
among  the  readers  of  Knox,  and  which  gave  a  new  and  greatly 
more  credible  account  of  Knox's  face  and  outward  appearance 
This  is  what  has  since  been  called  the  Somerville  Portrait  of 
Knox ;  of  which  Engraving  a  facsimile  is  here  laid  before 
the  reader.  In  1849  the  same  Engraving  was  a  second  time 
published,  in  Knighfs  Pictorial  History  of  England.  It  was 
out  of  this  latter  that  I  first  obtained  sight  of  it ;  and  as 
soon  as  possible,  had  another  copy  of  the  Engraving  framed 
and  hung  up  beside  me  ;  believing  that  Mr.  Knight,  or  the 
Society  he  published  for,  had  made  the  due  inquiries  from  the 
Somerville  family,  and  found  the  answer  satisfactory  ;  I  myself 
nothing  doubting  to  accept  it  as  the  veritable  Portrait  of 
Knox.  Copies  of  this  Engraving  are  often  found  in  portfolios, 
but  seldom  hung  upon  the  walls  of  a  study ;  and  I  doubt  if 
it  has  ever  had  much  circulation,  especially  among  the  more 
serious  readers  of  Knox.  For  my  own  share,  I  had  unhesitat- 
ingly believed  in  it ;  and  knew  not  that  anybody  called  it  in 
question,  till  two  or  three  years  ago,  in  the  immense  uproar 
which  arose  in  Scotland  on  the  subject  of  a  monument  to 
Knox,  and  the  utter  collapse  it  ended  in, — evidently  enough 


THE    PORTRAITS    OF   JOHN    KNOX      361 

not  for  want  of  money,  to  the  unlimited  amount  of  millions, 
but  of  any  plan  that  could  be  agreed  on  with  the  slightest 
chance  of  feasibility.  This  raised  an  incjuiry  as  to  the  out- 
ward appearance  of  Knox,  and  especially  as  to  this  Somerville 
Likeness,  which  I  believed,  and  cannot  but  still  believe,  to  be 
the  only  probable  likeness  of  him,  anywhere  known  to  exist. 
Its  history,  what  can  be  recovered  of  it,  is  as  follows. 

On  the  death  of  the  last  Baron  Somerville,  some  three  or 
four  years  ago,  the  Somerville  Peerage,  after  four  centuries  of 
duration,  became  extinct ;  and  this  Picture  then  passed  into 
the  possession  of  one  of  the  representatives  of  the  family,  the 
Hon.  Mrs.  Ralph  Smyth  of  Gaybrook,  near  Mullingar,  Ireland. 
This  lady  was  a  stranger  to  me ;  but  on  being  applied  to, 
kindly  had  a  list  of  questions  with  reference  to  the  Knox 
Portrait,  which  were  drawn  up  by  an  artist  friend,  and  sent 
to  her,  minutely  answered  ;  and  afterwards,  with  a  courtesy 
and  graceful  kindness,  even  since  pleasant  to  think  of,  offered 
on  her  coming  to  London  to  bring  the  Picture  itself  hither. 
All  which  accordingly  took  effect ;  and  in  sum,  the  Picture 
was  intrusted  altogether  to  the  keeping  of  these  inquirers,  and 
stood  for  above  three  months  patent  to  every  kind  of  examina- 
tion,— until  it  was,  by  direction  of  its  lady  owner,  removed 
to  the  Loan  Gallery  of  the  South  Kensington  Museum,  where 
it  remained  for  above  a  year.  And  in  effect  it  was  inspected, 
in  some  cases  with  the  greatest  minuteness,  by  the  most  dis- 
tinguished Artists  and  judges  of  art  that  could  be  found  in 
London.  On  certain  points  they  were  all  agreed  ;  as,  for 
instance,  that  it  was  a  portrait  in  all  probability  like  the  man 
intended  to  be  represented ;  that  it  was  a  roughly  executed 
work  ;  probably  a  copy ;  certainly  not  of  earlier,  most  likely 
of  later  date,  than  Godfrey  Kneller's  time ;  that  the  head 
represented  must  have  belonged  to  a  person  of  distinguished 
talent,  character,  and  qualities.  For  the  rest,  several  of  these 
gentlemen  objected  to  the  costume  as  belonging  to  the  Puritan 
rather  than  to  Knox's  time ;  concerning  which  preliminary 
objection  more  anon,  and  again  more. 


362      THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX 

Mr.  Robert  Tait,  a  well-known  Artist,  of  whom  we  have 
already  spoken,  and  who  has  taken  great  pains  in  this  matter, 
says  : 

'  The  Engraving  from  the  Somerville  Portrait  is  an  unusu- 
ally correct  and  successful  representation  of  it,  yet  it  conveys 
a  higher  impression  than  the  picture  itself  does ;  the  features, 
especially  the  eyes  and  nose,  are  finer  in  form,  and  more  firmly 
defined  in  the  engraving  than  in  the  picture,  while  the  "bricky 
colour  in  the  face  of  the  latter  and  a  somewhat  glistening 
appearance  in  the  skin  give  rather  a  sensual  character  to  the 
head.  These  defects  or  peculiarities  in  the  colour  and  surface 
are,  however,  probably  due  to  repainting  ;  the  Picture  must 
have  been  a  good  deal  retouched,  when  it  was  lined,  some  thirty 
or  forty  years  ago ;  and  signs  are  not  wanting  of  even  earlier 
manipulation.  .  .  ,  ,  Some  persons  have  said  that  the  dress, 
especially  the  falling  band,  belongs  to  a  later  age  than  that 
of  Knox,  and  is  sufficient  to  invalidate  the  Portrait ;  but  such 
is  not  the  case,  for  white  collars  or  bands,  of  various  shapes 
and  sizes,  were  in  use  in  Knox's  time,  and  are  found  in  the 
portraits,  and  frequently  referred  to,  in  the  literature  of 
Elizabeth''s  reign.' 

The  remark  of  Mr.  Tait  in  reference  to  the  somewhat 
unpleasant  '  surface  "■  of  the  Somerville  Picture  is  clearly  illus- 
trated by  looking  at  an  excellent  copy  of  it,  painted  a  few 
months  ago  by  Mr.  Samuel  Laurence,  in  which,  although  the 
likeness  is  accurately  preserved,  the  head  has  on  account  of 
the  less  oily  '  surface  "*  of  the  jiicture  a  much  more  refined 
appearance.^ 

'  Since  this  was  first  printed,  Mr.  Laurence  himself  favours  me  with  the 
following  remarks,  which  seem  too  good  to  be  lost :...'!  wish  the  reason 
for  my  copying  the  Somerville  Picture  had  been  given,  viz.  its  being  in  a  state  of 
dilapidation  and  probable  decay.  Entirely  agreeing  with  your  own  impressions 
as  to  its  representing  the  individuality  and  character  of  the  man,  I  undertook  to 
make  a  copy  that  should,  beside  keeping  the  character,  represent  the  condition 
of  this  Picture  in  its  undamaged  state.  It  is  now  not  only  "much  cracked,"  but 
the  half-tints  are  taken  off,  by  some  bad  cleaner ;  the  gradations  between  the 
highest  lights  and  the  deepest  shades  wanting :  hence  the  unpleasant  look.     I 


THE    PORTRAITS    OF   JOHN    KNOX      363 

At  the  top  of  the  folio  Book,  which  Knox  holds  with  his 
right-hand  fingers,  there  are  in  the  Picture,  though  omitted  in 
the  Engraving,  certain  letters,  two  or  three  of  them  distinct, 
the  others  broken,  scratchy,  and  altogether  illegible.  Out  of 
these,  various  attempts  were  made  by  several  of  us  to  decipher 
some  precise  inscription  ;  but  in  all  the  languages  we  had, 
nothing  could  be  done  in  that  way,  till  at  length,  what  might 
have  happened  earlier,  the  natural  idea  suggested  itself  that 
in  all  likelihood  the  folio  volume  was  the  Geneva  Bible ;  and 
that  the  half-obliterated  letters  were  probably  the  heading  of 
the  page.  Examination  at  the  British  Museum  was  at  once 
made ;  of  which,  from  a  faithful  inspector,  this  is  the  report : 
'  There  are  three  folio  editions,  printed  in  Roman  type,  of  the 
Geneva  Bible,  1560,  '62,  '70.  The  volume  represented  in 
the  Picture,  which  also  is  in  Roman,  not  in  Black  Letter, 
fairly  resembles  in  a  rough  way  the  folio  of  1562.  Each 
page  has  two  columns  for  the  text,  and  a  narrow  stripe  of 
commentary,  or  what  is  now  called  margin,  in  very  small  type 
along  the  edges,  which  is  more  copious  and  continuous  than 
in  the  original,  but  otherwise  sufficiently  indicates  itself. 
Headings  at  the  top  of  the  pages  in  larger  type  than  that  of 
the  text.  Each  verse  is  separate,  and  the  gaps  at  the  ends  of 
many  of  them  are  very  like  those  seen  in  the  Picture." 

I  was  informed  by  Mrs.  Ralph  Smyth  that  she  knew 
nothing  more  of  the  Picture  than  that  it  had,  as  long  as  she 
could  remember,  always  hung  on  the  walls  of  the  Somerville 
town-house  in  Hill  Street,  Mayfair, — but  this  Lady  being 
still  young  in  years,  her  recollection  does  not  carry  us  far 
back.  One  other  light  point  in  her  memory  was,  a  tradition 
in  the  family  that  it  was  brought  into  their  possession  by 
James,  the  thirteenth  Baron  Somerville ;  but  all  the  Papers 
connected  with  the  family  having  been  destroyed  some  years 

think  more  than  a  matter  of  "surface."  The  very  ground,  a  "  bricky"  red  one, 
exposed,  here  and  there  ;  the  effect  of  which  upon  the  colours  may  be  likened  to 
a  tune  played  upon  a  pianoforte  that  has  missing  keys  .  .  .—Samuel  Laurence 
(6  Wells  Street,  Oxford  Street,  March  30,  1875).' 


864      THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    Kx\OX 

ago  by  fire,  in  a  solicitor's  office  in  London,  there  was  no 
means  either  of  verifying  or  contradicting  that  tradition. 

Of  this  James,  thirteenth  Lord  Somerville,  there  is  the 
following  pleasant  and  suggestive  notice  by  Boswell,  in  his 
Dfc  of  Johnson : 

'  The  late  Lord  Somerville,  Avho  saw  much  both  of  great 
and  brilliant  life,  told  me,  that  he  had  dined  in  company  with 
Pope,  and  that  after  dinner  the  "  little  man,"  as  he  called  him, 
drank  his  bottle  of  Burgundy,  and  was  exceedingly  gay  and 
entertaining.'' 

And  as  a  footnote  Boswell  adds  : 

'Let  me  here  express  my  grateful  remembrance  of  Lord 
Somerville's  kindness  to  me,  at  a  very  early  period.  He  was 
the  first  person  of  high  rank  that  took  particular  notice  of 
me  in  the  way  most  flattering  to  a  young  man,  fondly  ambi- 
tious of  being  distinguished  for  his  literary  talents ;  and  by 
the  honour  of  his  encouragement  made  me  think  well  of 
myself,  and  aspire  to  deserve  it  better.  He  had  a  happy  art 
of  communicating  his  varied  knowledge  of  the  world,  in  short 
remarks  and  anecdotes,  with  a  quiet  pleasant  gravity,  that 
was  exceedingly  engaging.  Never  shall  I  forget  the  hours 
which  I  enjoyed  with  him  at  his  apartments  in  the  Royal 
Palace  of  Holyrood  House,  and  at  his  seat  near  Edinburgh, 
which  he  himself  had  formed  with  an  elegant  taste.' ^ 

The  vague  guess  is  that  this  James,  thirteenth  Baron 
Somerville,  had  somewhere  fallen  in  with  an  excellent  Portrait 
of  Knox,  seemingly  by  some  distinguished  Artist  of  Knox's 
time ;  and  had  had  a  copy  of  it  painted, — presumably  for  his 
mansion  of  Drum,  near  Edinburgh,  long  years  perhaps  before 
it  came  to  Mayfair. 

Among  scrutinisers  here,  it  was  early  recollected  that  there 
hung  in  the  Royal  Society's  rooms  an  excellent  Portrait  of 
Buchanan,  undisputedly  painted  by  Francis  Porbus ;  that 
Knox  and  Buchanan  were  children  of  the  same  year  (1505), 
and  that  both  the  Portrait  of  Buchanan  and  that  of  Knox 

^  'Ros.vitWs  Life  of  Johnson,  Fitzgerald's  edit.  (Lond.  1874),  ii.  p.  434. 


THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX      365 

indicated  for  the  sitter  an  age  of  about  sixty  or  more.  So  tliat 
one  preliminary  doubt,  Was  there  in  Scotland,  about  1565, 
an  artist  capable  of  such  a  Portrait  as  this  of  Knox  ?  was 
completely  abolished ;  and  the  natural  inquiry  arose,  Can  anv 
traces  of  affinity  between  these  two  be  discovered  ? 

The  eminent  Sculptor,  Mr.  J.  E.  Boehm,  whose  judgment 
of  painting  and  knowledge  of  the  history,  styles  and  epochs  of 
it,  seemed  to  my  poor  laic  mind  far  beyond  that  of  any  other 
I  had  communed  with,  directly  visited,  along  with  me,  the 
Royal  Society's  collection  ;  found  in  this  Buchanan  perceptible 
traces  of  kinship  with  the  Knox  Portrait ;  and  visited  there- 
upon, and  examined,  with  great  minuteness,  whatever  Porbuses 
we  could  hear  of  in  London,  or  neighbourhood.  And  always, 
as  was  evident  to  me,  with  growing  clearness  of  conviction 
that  this  Portrait  of  Knox  was  a  coarse  and  rapid,  but  effec- 
tive, probably  somewhat  enlarged,  copy  after  Porbus,  done  to 
all  appearance  in  the  above-named  Baron  Somerville's  time  ; 
that  is,  before  1766.  Mr.  Boehm,  with  every  new  Porbus, 
became  more  interested  in  this  research  ;  and  regretted  with 
me  that  so  few  Porbuses  were  attainable  here,  and  of  these, 
several  not  by  our  Buchanan  Porbus,  Francois  Porbus,  or 
Pourbus,  called  in  our  dictionaries,  le  vieux,  but  by  his  son  and 
by  his  father.  Last  Autumn  Mr.  Boehm  was  rusticating  in 
the  Netherlands.  There  he  saw  and  examined  many  Porbuses, 
and  the  following  is  the  account  which  he  gives  of  his  re- 
searches there  : 

'  I  will  try,  as  best  I  can,  to  enumerate  the  reasons  why  I 
think  that  the  Somerville  Picture  is  a  copy,  and  why  a  copy 
after  Francis  Porbus. 

'  That  it  is  a  copy  done  in  the  latter  half  of  the  last  cen- 
tury can  be  easily  seen  by  the  manner  of  painting,  and  by 
the  mediums  used,  which  produced  a  certain  circular  cracking 
throughout  the  picture,  peculiar  only  to  the  paintings  of  that 
period.  Its  being  a  little  over  the  size  of  nature  suggests 
that  it  was  done  after  a  smaller  picture,  as  it  is  not  probable 
that,  had  it  been  done  from  life,  or  from  a  life-sized  head,  the 


366     THE    PORTRAITS    OF   JOHN    KNOX 

artist  would  have  got  into  those  proportions;  and  most  of 
the  portraits  by  Porbus  (as  also  by  Holbein,  Albrecht  Dlirer, 
the  contemporary  and  previous  masters)  are  a  little  under  life- 
size,  as  the  sitter  would  appear  to  the  painter  at  a  certain 
distance. 

'The  Somerville  Picture  at  first  reminded  me  more  of 
Porbus  than  of  any  other  painter  of  that  time,  although  I  did 
not  then  know  whether  Porbus  had  ever  been  in  England,  as, 
judging  by  the  fact  that  he  painted  Knox's  contemporary 
George  Buchanan,  we  may  now  fairly  suppose  was  the  case. 
Last  Autumn  at  Bruges,  Ghent,  Brussels,  and  Antwerp,  I 
carefully  examined  no  less  than  forty  portraits  by  Francis 
Porbus,  le  vieux.  There  are  two  pictures  at  Bruges  in  each 
of  which  are  sixteen  portrait  heads,  carefully  painted  and  well 
preserved,  somewhat  smaller  than  that  of  Buchanan ;  and  I 
can  most  vividly  figure  to  myself  that  the  original  after  which 
the  said  copy  was  painted  must  have  been  like  that  and  not 
otherwise ;  indeed  if  I  had  found  the  original  in  a  corner  of 
one  of  the  galleries,  my  astonishment  would  have  been  as  small 
as  my  pleasure  in  apprising  you  of  the  find  would  have  been 
great.  In  some  of  these  forty  portraits  the  costumes,  includ- 
ing the  large  white  collar,  which  has  been  objected  to,  are 
very  similar  to  John  Knox's  ;  and  in  the  whole  of  them  there 
are  traces  in  drawing,  arrangement  of  light  and  shadow,  con- 
ception of  character,  and  all  those  qualities  which  can  never 
quite  be  drowned  in  a  reproduction,  and  which  are,  it  seems 
to  me,  clearly  discerned  in  this  copy,  done  by  a  free  and  swift 
hand,  careful  only  to  reproduce  the  likeness  and  general  effect, 
and  heedless  of  the  dehcate  and  refined  touch  of  the  great 
master. — J.  E.  Boehm.' 

From  the  well-known  and  highly  estimated  Mr.  Merritt  of 
the  National  Gallery, — who  had  not  heard  of  the  Picture  at 
all,  nor  of  these  multifarious  researches,  but  who  on  being 
applied  to  by  a  common  friend  (for  1  have  never  had  the 
pleasure  of  personally  knowing  Mr.  Merritt)  kindly  consented 
to  go  to   the  South  Kensington  Museum,  and  examine  the 


THE    PORTRAITS    OF    JOHN    KNOX      367 

Picture, — I  receive,  naturally  with  pleasure  and  surprise,  the 
following  report : 

*  54  Devonshire  Street,  Portland  Place,  W. 

'9  January  1875. 

'  After  a  careful  inspection  of  the  Portrait,  I  am  bound  to 
say  that  the  signs  of  age  are  absent  from  the  surface,  and  I 
should  therefore  conjecture  that  it  is  a  copy  of  a  portrait  of 
the  time  of  Francis  Pourbus,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for 
the  portrait  of  Geoi'ge  Buchanan,  which  I  believe  is  in  the 
possession  of  the  Royal  Society. 

'  My  opinion  is  in  favour  of  the  Somerville  Portrait  being 
of  Knox.  Strongly  marked  features  like  those  were  not  likely 
to  be  confounded  with  any  other  man's.  The  world  has  a 
way  of  handing  down  the  lineaments  of  great  men.  Records 
and  tradition,  as  experience  has  shown  me,  do  their  work  in 
this  respect  very  effectively. — Henry  Merritt.'' 

This  is  all  the  evidence  we  have  to  offer  on  the  Somerville 
Portrait.  The  preliminary  objection  in  respect  to  costume, 
as  we  have  seen,  is  without  validity,  and  may  be  classed,  in 
House-of-Connnons  language,  as  '  frivolous  and  vexatious."" 
The  Pifiture  is  not  an  ideal,  but  that  of  an  actual  man,  or 
still  more  precisely,  an  actual  Scottish  ecclesiastical  man.  In 
point  of  external  evidence,  unless  the  original  turn  up,  which 
is  not  impossible,  though  much  improbable,  there  can  be  none 
complete  or  final  in  regard  to  such  a  matter ;  but  with  in- 
ternal evidence  to  some  of  us  it  is  replete,  and  beams  brightly 
with  it  through  every  pore.  For  my  own  share  if  it  is  not 
John  Knox  the  Scottish  hero  and  evangelist  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  I  cannot  conjecture  who  or  what  it  is. 


INDEX 


Aasta,  St.  Olaf's  mother,  v.  253,  257. 

Abelard,  iv.  453. 

.ci.dam  of  Bremen,  v.  288  n.,  294. 

Adieu,  i.  473. 

Affectation,  difference  between,  and 
genuine  originality,  i.  13,  19 ;  the 
bane  of  literature,  2{)8. 

Albert  of  Austria,  v.  1 28. 

Albert,  Prince,  Saxon  Line  of,  iv.  415 
(see  Ernestine  Line) ;  his  Horoscope 
and  Pedigree,  444. 

Albert,  Achilles,  Elector  of  Branden- 
burg, iv.  417. 

Albert,  Alcihiades,  iv.  437. 

Albert  the  Courageous,  iv.  430. 

Albertine  Line  of  Saxon  Princes,  iv.  430. 

Almacks,  high  Art  at,  i.  256 ;  gum- 
flowers  of,  to  be  made  living  roses  of 
Eden,  iii.  321. 

Alsace  and  Lorraine,  cession  of,  to 
Germany,  v.  49,  52,  58. 

Alva,  Duke  of,  v.  119,  I2l. 

Ambition,  iii.  475;  iv.  53,  72,  84.  See 
Love  of  Power. 

America,  discovery  of,  in  Hakon  Jarl's 
reign,  v.  230. 

American  War,  the  late,  v.  5. 

Amusements,  unveracious,  iv.  403. 

Anarchy,  no  victory  possible  to,  v.  44. 

Animal  attachments,  iv.  G9  ;  a  wise  little 
Blenheim  cocker,  70  ;  likeness  to  man, 
71. 

Antoninus,  v.  3. 

Anjou,  Duke  of,  v,  124,  127. 

Antwerp,  v.  107,  108,  110,  114,  116; 
statue  of  William  of  Orange  at,  121 ; 
sacked,  123 ;  mentioned,  127. 

Apologue,  the  age  of,  ii.  301. 

Aristocracy,  a  word  to  our,  iii.  163 ; 
ominous  condition  of  our,  iv.  149,  165, 
186  ;  an  Aristocracy  a  corporation  of 
the  Best  and  Bravest,  160  ;  old  Feudal 
Aristocracies,  162,  165  ;  a  glimpse  of 
self -vision  for  them,  400 ;  by  nature 
infinitely  important  to  us,  v.  21 ;  vocal 
and  industrial,  23,  30,  45 ;  our  titled, 
still  looked  up  to,  15 ;  their  remaining 

VOT,.  V, 


possibilities,  16,  21,  37  ;  a  wide  field  for 
younger  sons,  16,  17  ;  the  politest  kind 
of  noblemen  going,  19 ;  born  brother 
to  the  industrial  noble,  31 ;  and  to  the 
teaching,  45 ;  vidgar  noble  lords,  in- 
tent on  their  own  game,  47,  48. 

Arkwright,  Richard,  historical  import- 
ance of,  iv.  182. 

Armada,  the  Invincible,  v.  127. 

Arneson,  Finn,  v.  282. 

Arneson,  Kalf,  v.  282. 

Arran,  Earl  of,  v.  342. 

Arschot,  Duke  of,  v.  123,  124. 

Art,  biographic  interest  in,  iii.  45 ; 
necessity  for  veracitv,  iv.  409,  v.  24, 
25. 

Arth,  sermon  by,  v.  333. 

Artificial,  the,  as  contrasted  with  the 
natural,  iii.  13. 

Artist,  German  ideal  of  the  true,  i.  57, 
226  ;  in  History,  ii.  90 ;  Opera  Artists, 
iv.  399. 

Ashdon,  Knut's  last  victory  at,  v.  256. 

Ass,  the,  and  the  moon,  i.  468. 

Atheism,  how  it  melts  into  nothingness, 
ii.  26 ;  Richter's  Dream  of,  156 ;  an 
impossibility,  390;  proselyting  Atheist, 
iii.  230,  235. 

August  the  Strong,  of  the  three  hundred 
and  fifty-four  bastards,  iv.  437. 

Eacon,  Roger,  ii.  280. 

Badness,  by  its  nature  negative,  iii.  76. 
See  Evil. 

Baffometus,  Werner's  parable  of,  i.  99. 

Baillie  the  Covenanter,  iv.  226-260  ; 
Scotch  Encampmen'-.  on  the  Hill  of 
Dunse,  239  ;  domesticities  of  Kilwin- 
ning, 243:  Impeachment  and  trial  of 
Strafford,  247. 

Balaam  and  his  Ass,  iii.  164. 

Balfour,  James,  v.  345. 

r>allet-girls,  iv.  399. 

Balmung,  the  wonderful  Sword,  ii.  233. 

Balnaves  of  Hallhill,  v.  347. 

Barnardiston,  Sir  Nathaniel,  iv.  327. 

Barnum,  Yankee,  methods,  iv.  408. 

2  A 


370 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS 


Battle,  life  a,  iii.  43 ;  all  misunderstand- 
ing, iv.  157. 

Beales,  v.  3, 12 ;  answers  for  the  Queen's 
peace,  11. 

Beaton,  Cardinal,  v.  336,  339  ;  his  death, 
341,  342. 

Bede,  Venerable,  iv.  172. 

Beetle,  the,  i.  474. 

Beginnings,  ii.  379. 

Being,  the  lordliest  Real-Phantasmagory, 
iii.  328. 

Belgium,  v.  100 ;  scenery  of,  101 ;  pro- 
ducts, 102,  105 ;  climate,  102 ;  capital, 
109 ;  government,  111 ;  conquered  by 
Louis  XIV.,  130;  by  Louis  xv.,  132. 

Believing,  glory  of  knowing  and,  i.  413 ; 
mystic  power  of  belief,  iii.  29,  36,  50, 
78,  248 ;  the  least  spiritual  belief  con- 
ceivable, 235  ;  superstitious  ditto,  295. 

Belleisle's  German  schemes,  v.  51. 

Bentley,  iv.  468. 

Bergen-op-Zoom,  v.  132. 

Bernhard  of  Weimar,  iv.  443. 

Berserkir  rage,  deep-hidden  in  the  Saxon 
heart,  iv.  140. 

Beza,  Theodore,  Icones,  dedication  bj',  v. 
313,  330 ;  Knox  Icon,  318 ;  inane 
account  of  Knox,  320  ;  letter  to 
Buchanan,  322  ;  payment  for  '  twa 
picturis,'  323;  cited,  313. 

Bible,  the  Hebrew,  ii.  43 ;  iii.  141,  251 ; 
a  History  of  the  primeval  Church,  ii. 
93;  Bible  of  World-History,  infinite 
in  meaning  as  the  Divine  Mind  it 
emblems,  v.  25 ;  the  truest  of  books, 
iii.  250.     See  Israelitish  Historj'. 

Biography,  a  good,  almost  as  rare  as  a 
well-spent  life,  i.  1;  ii.  100;  Biography, 
iii.  44-61 ;  the  basis  of  all  that  can 
interest,  45 ;  of  sparrows  and  cock- 
chafers, 59  ;  need  of  brevity,  86  ;  the 
highest  Gospel  a  Biography,  90 ;  '  re- 
spectable '  English  Biographies,  326 ; 
iv.  29  ;  no  heroic  Poem  but  is  at  bottom 
a  Biography,  26 ;  biographic  worth  of 
a  true  Portrait,  404. 

Birkebeins,  v.  303-305. 

Bismarck's  success  with  Germany,  v.  3 ; 
misconception  in  England  as  to  his 
sense  and  moderation,  59. 

Bjorn  the  Chapman,  v.  208,  217,  252, 

Boehm,  Mr.  J.  E.,  v.  332,  365. 

BoHvar,  'the  Washington  of  Columbia,' 
iv.  262. 

Bonaparte,  Napoleon,  ii.  372,  378,  398 ; 
his  '  Tools  to  him  that  can  handle 
them,'  our  ultimate  Political  Evangel, 
iii.  409 ;  iv.  37 ;  Varnhagen  at  the  Court 
of,  102. 

Boner,  and  his  Edelstein,  ii.  295;  The 
Frog  and  the  Steer,  299. 


Bonpland,  M.,  and  how  Dr.  Francia 
treated  him,  iv.  272,  318. 

Books,  Collections  of,  iv.  453 ;  two  kinds 
of,  165,  466. 

Bookseller-System,  the,  iii.  101,  203. 

Bos  well,  iii.  55  ;  his  character  and  gifts, 
68  ;  his  true  Hero-worship  for  Johnson, 
70;  his  Johnsoniad,  75;  no  infringe- 
ment of  social  privacy,  83 ;  Life  of 
Johnson  cited,  v.  364. 

Bothwell,  Earl  of,  v.  337,  339. 

Bouillon,  Duke  of,  and  Francis  i.,  v. 
50,  53. 

Bricks,  London,  iv.  33. 

British  Translators,  ii.  336  ;  Critics,  400. 

Bruges,  v.  106,  107,  110,  114,  127. 

Briihl,  Henry  Count  von,  i.  332. 

Brummel,  Beau,  ii.  395. 

Buchanan,  George,  v.  225,  306 ;  tutor  to 
James  vi.,  314;  Beza's  letter  to,  322; 
portrait  of,  in  Royal  Society,  364; 
History  cited,  225 ;  Epistolce  cited, 
322  ;  Irving's  life  of,  cited,  358. 

Buckskin,  the  Hon.  Hickory,  iv.  370. 

Bue  fights  at  Jomsburg,  v.  222. 

Burgundy,  Duke  of,  v.  113,  114. 

Burgundy  united  to  France,  v.  50. 

Burislav,  241,  244. 

Burns,  i.  258-318 ;  his  hard  conditions, 
263 ;  a  true  Poet-soul,  265 ;  like  a 
King  in  exile,  266  ;  sincerity,  267  ;  his 
Letters,  270;  tenderness  and  piercing 
emphasis  of  thought,  274;  the  more 
delicate  relations  of  things,  278;  in- 
dignation, 281;  Scots  ivha  hae,  Mac- 
pherson's  Farewell,  281 ;  Tarn  O' 
Slianter,  The  Jolly  Beggars,  283;  his 
Songs,  284;  love  of  country,  289; 
passionate  youth  never  became  clear 
manhood,  291 ;  his  estimable  Father, 
293 ;  iv.  116 ;  boyhood,  and  entrance 
into  life,  i.  293  ;  invited  to  Edinburgh, 
297 ;  Sir  Walter  Scott's  reminiscence 
of  him,  298  ;  Excise  and  Farm  scheme, 
301 ;  calumny,  isolation,  death,  304 ; 
his  failure  chiefly  in  his  own  heart, 
310  ;  a  divine  behest  lay  smouldering 
within  him,  316;  his  kinghood  and 
kingdom,  iii.  92 ;  a  contemporary  of 
lilirabeau,  435 ;  mentioned,  iv.  135, 164. 

Burnt  Njal,  236. 

Byron's  short  career,  i.  69 ;  life-weari- 
ness, 218  ;  his  manful  yet  unvictorious 
struggle,  243  ;  far  enough  from  fault- 
less, 269,  293 ;  ii.  173 ;  sent  forth  as  a 
missionary  to  his  generation,  i.  316 ; 
poor  Byron,  who  really  had  much  sub- 
stance in  him,  iv.  53. 

Cabanis's,  Dr.,  metaphysical  discoveries, 
ii.  65,  279. 


INDEX 


371 


Cagliostro,  Count,  iii.  249-318 ;  a  Liar  of 
the  first  magnitude,  251 ;  singularly 
prosperous  career,  255  ;  birth  and  boy- 
hood, 2C0 ;  with  a  Convent  Apothecary, 
263 ;  a  touch  of  grim  Humour,  2G4 ; 
returns  to  Palermo,  265  ;  Forgery  and 
general  Swindlery,  267 ;  a  Treasure- 
digging  dodge,  and  consequent  flight, 
268 ;  quack-talent,  275  ;  marriage,  and 
a  new  game  opened  out,  277 ;  temporary 
reverses,  280 ;  potions  and  love-philtres, 
281 ;  visits  England,  and  drives  a  pro- 
sperous trade  in  the  supernatural,  282 ; 
Freemasonry,  284 ;  his  gift  of  Tongue, 
292 ;  successes  and  exposures,  298 ; 
how  he  fleeced  the  Cardinal  de  Rohan, 
303 ;  the  Diamond-Necklace  business, 
306,  324-402;  again  in  England,  308; 
Goethe's  visit  to  his  family  at  Palermo, 
310 ;  Cagliostro's  Workday  ended, 
316. 

Camille  Desmoulins,  iv.  12. 

Cant,  i.  268 ;  iii.  74,  125,  462. 

Capital  Punishments,  iv.  308. 

Carberry  HiU,  battle  of,  v.  353. 

Carteret's,  Lord,  interest  in  Germany, 
V.  58. 

Cash-payment,  iv.  162,  169. 

Cathedral  of  Immensity,  iv.  288. 

Catherine  of  Russia,  Diderot's  visit  to, 
iii.  224 ;  disputes  with  Pitt,  v.  160. 

Celts,  the,  iv.  173. 

Cervantes,  i.  17 ;  iv.  34. 

Chambers's  Biorjraiohical  Dictionary, 
Knox's  portrait  in,  v.  332. 

Chancery,  Cromwell's  reform  of,  iv.  460, 
461. 

Change,  the  inevitable  approach  of,  mani- 
fest everywhere,  iii.  21 ;  iv.  259,  445  ; 
universal  law  of,  iii.  38 ;  11.  379,  434. 

Characteristics,  iii.  1-43. 

Charlemagne,  iii.  327 ;  v.  112. 

Charles  r. ,  vacuous,  chimerical  letters  of, 
iv.  235 ;  judicial  blindness,  242 ;  at 
Strafford's  Trial,  250 ;  his  time,  464. 

Charles  ii.,  iii.  54;  desperate  return  of, 
V.  14,  20. 

Charles  v.'s  struggles  with  Francis  i. ,  v. 
50,  54,  110 ;  in  the  Netherlands,  114, 
115, 116,  117  ;  mentioned,  120. 

Charles  the  Bold,  v.  113. 

Chartism,  iv.  118,  148,  157 ;  the  history 
of  Chartism  not  mysterious,  186. 

Chateau-Cambresis,  treaty  of,  v.  117. 

Chatelet,  the  Marquise  du,  i.  430 ;  her 
utter  shamelessness,  432 ;  unimaginable 
death-bed  scene,  433. 

Chatham-and-Dover  Railway,  v.  35. 

Cheap  and  Nasty,  v.  2,  32-35. 

Cheek,  Sir  Hatton,  and  Sir  Thomas 
Dutton,  iv.  392. 


Chesterfield,  Lord,  Johnson's  Letter  to, 
iii.  102. 

Childhood,  fresh  gaze  of,  ii.  40;  happy 
Unconsciousness  of,  iii.  3. 

Chivalry  on  the  wane,  ii.  280,  283 ;  gone, 
293 ;  iii.  29,  337. 

Christ,  the  Divine  Life  of,  1.  240;  true 
reverence  for  his  sufferings  and  death, 
241 ;  allusion  to,  by  Tacitus,  398 ;  a 
Sanctuary  for  all  the  wretched,  iii. 
363. 

Christianity,  beginning  of,  in  Norway, 
V.  211-214,  260;  Gudbrand's  dream, 
262-266  ;  fairly  taken  root,  268. 

Christian  Religion,  ineffaceable  record  of 
the,  i.  457  ;  its  sacred,  silent,  unfathom- 
able depths,  458 ;  Novalis'a  thoughts 
on,  ii.  42;  how  it  arose  and  spread 
abroad  among  men,  70 ;  dissipating 
into  metaphysics,  iii.  23 ;  in  the  new 
epoch,  V.  2 ;  its  dead  body  getting 
buried,  29. 

Chronicle  of  Man,  v.  297. 

Chronology,  Norse,  uncertainty  of,  v. 
220,  247,  277. 

Church,  the,  and  what  it  might  be,  iv. 
155  ;  '  church '  done  by  machinery, 
195. 

Church  History,  a  continued  Holy  Writ, 
ii.  92;  Mother-Church  a  superannuated 
step-mother,  iii.  29. 

Circumstances,  man  not  the  product  of 
his,  1.  353 ;  the  victorious  subduer,  iii. 
90 ;  their  inevitable  influence,  229  ; 
iv.  42. 

Clive,  Robert,  iv.  184. 

Cleon  the  Tanner,  iv.  471 ;  v.  3. 

Clothes-horse,  man  never  altogether  a, 
ii.  392. 

Cobbett,  William,  a  most  brave  pheno- 
menon, iv.  39,  81. 

Cockburn.     See  Ormiston. 

Codification,  the  new  trade  of  ii.  68,  360. 

Coleridge,  ii.  3. 

Collins's  Peerage,  an  excellent  book  for 
diligence  and  fidelity,  iv.  463,  464. 

Colonial  Vice-Kings,  v.  16. 

Commons,  English  House  of,  iv.  311. 

Commonweal,  European,  tendency  to  a, 
ii.  370.  See  Europe,  European  Revolu- 
tion. 

Commonwealth  of  England  demanded, 
V.  13,  15. 

Condamine,  M.  de  la,  iv.  278, 

Conquest,  no,  permanent  if  altogether 
unjust,  iv.  l46. 

Conscience,  the  only  safehold,  ii.  163 ; 
singular  forms  of,  iii.  238 ;  not  found 
in  every  character  named  human,  352 ; 
iv.  178. 

Constancy  the  root  of  all  excellence,  11. 16, 


372 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS 


Constitution,  the  English,  iv.  176,  179. 

Contagion,  spiritual,  ii.  56. 

Conversation,  the  phenomenon  of,  iii.  45, 
169 ;  sincere  and  insincere,  84. 

Cooper,  Fenimore,  what  he  might  have 
given  us,  iv.  27. 

Copper-Captain,  Imperial,  v.  308. 

Copyright  Bill,  Petition  on  the,  iv.  205. 

Corn-Law  Rhymes,  and  Rhymer,  iii.  136- 
166;  an  earnest,  truth-speaking  man, 
145 ;  his  bread-tax  philosophy,  149  ; 
primary  idea  of  all  poetry,  152 ;  defects 
of  manner,  154 ;  glimpses  into  the  pro- 
phetic Book  of  Existence,  155;  the 
poor  workman's  hopeless  struggle,  158  ; 
Enoch  Wray,  an  inarticulate  half- 
audible  Epic,  161. 

Corn-Laws  and  Sliding-Scales,  iv.  259. 

Courage,  true,  ii.  382;  iii.  122. 

Court-life,  teetotum  terrors  of,  iii.  345. 

Cramming,  University,  iv.  452. 

Creation  and  Manufacture,  iii.  5 ;  what 
few  things  are  made  by  man,  334.  See 
Man,  Invention. 

Creed,  every,  and  Form  of  Worship,  a 
form  merely,  i.  143. 

Crichton,  Lord  Sanquhar,  iv.  389. 

Criticism,  German  literary,  i.  51 ;  the 
Critical  Philosophy,  77 ;  petty  critics, 
252.     See  British. 

Croker's  edition  of  Boswell,  iii.  62. 

Cromwell,  what  he  did,  iii.  97 ;  iv.  159 ; 
178,  256 ;  his  worth  in  history,  458 ; 
his  Protectorate,  459 ;  dead  body  hung 
on  the  gibbet,  v.  20  ;  mentioned,  130. 

Croydon  Races,  a  quarrel  at,  iv.  389. 

'  Crucify  him  ! '  a  considerable  feat  in  the 
suppression  of  minorities,  iv.  360,  363. 

Crusades,  the,  ii.  71. 

Cruthers  and  Jonson,  v.  168-198 ;  quarrels, 
169,  171;  friendship,  173;  Cruthers's 
appearance  and  character,  176;  Jon- 
son's  appearance  and  character,  178; 
Jonson  joins  Prince  Charles  Edward, 
179 ;  battle  of  Prestonpans,  180  ;  Jon- 
son at  Carlisle,  183 ;  imprisoned,  184 ; 
tried  and  condemned,  186 ;  Cruthers 
hears  of  Jouson's  fate,  187  ;  visits  him 
in  prison,  188 ;  Jonson  pardoned,  goes 
to  Jamaica,  192;  emploj^ed  by  Coun- 
cillor Herberts,  193 ;  marries,  196 ; 
return  home  and  death,  197. 

Cui  bono,  i.  470. 

Cupar  Muir,  fight  at,  v.  354. 

Currie's,  Dr.,  Life  of  Burns,  i.  259, 

Dag,  v.  280,  282. 

Dahlmann,  v.  201  n.,  205  n.,  214,  230, 

284,  285. 
D'Alembert,  iii.  206. 
Danegelt,  v.  233,  250,  251. 


Danes  in  England,  v.  232 ;  possessions  of, 
massacre  of,  250. 

Dante,  iii.  419 ;  iv.  80. 

Danton,  an  eartliborn,  yet  honestly  born 
of  Earth,  iii.  410. 

David,  King,  iv.  398. 

Death,  the  seal  and  immortal  consecra- 
tion of  Life,  i.  311 ;  iii.  17  ;  Eternity 
looking  through  Time,  ii.  376;  if  not 
always  the  greatest  epoch,  yet  the 
most  noticeable,  385. 

Defoe,  i.  277. 

Democracy,  stern  Avatar  of,  iii.  270,  337 ; 
true  meaning  of,  iv.  158;  Macchia- 
velli's  opinion  of,  459 ;  to  complete 
itself,  V.  1. 

Denial  and  Destruction,  i.  216,  412,  459 ; 
iii.  105,  166,  180,  235;  change  from, 
to  affirmation  and  reconstruction,  ii. 
346 ;  iii.  32. 

Demosthenes  and  Phocion,  iv.  470. 

Denmark,  v.  59. 

Derby,  Lord,  v.  16. 

Descriptive  power,  iii.  57. 

Devil,  the,  become  an  emancipated  gen- 
tleman, V.  9;  constant  invocation  of 
the,  35. 

De  Ruyter,  v.  130. 

D'Ewes,  Sir  Simonds,  High-Sheriff  of 
Suffolk,  iv.  325;  his  immaculate  elec- 
tion affidavits,  326;  Sir  Simonds  sat 
spotless  for  Sudbury,  343  ;  took  Notes 
of  the  Long  Parliament,  344;  purged 
out  with  some  four  or  five  score  others, 
344 ;  value  of  his  ms.  Notes,  345. 

De  Witts,  the,  v.  130,  131. 

Diamond  Necklace,  the,  iii.  324-402; 
the  various  histories  of  those  various 
Diamonds,  332;  description  of,  335; 
it  changes  hands,  379 ;  Diamonds  for 
sale,  386 ;  extraordinary  '  Necklace 
Trial,'  391. 

Diaze,  Jean,  v.  234. 

Dickson,  Colonel,  not  kicked  out,  v.  11. 

Dictatorships,  vise  of,  iv.  460. 

Diderot,  iii.  178-248;  his  Father,  186; 
education,  187 ;  precarious  manner  of 
life,  191 ;  his  marriage,  197 ;  general 
scoundrelism,  199 ;  authorship,  201 ; 
his  letters,  205;  incredible  activity, 
216  ;  garbled  proof-sheets,  217  ;  free, 
open-handed  life  in  Paris,  221 ;  visits 
Petersbiu-g,  224;  death,  226;  mental 
gifts,  227 ;  a  proselyting  Atheist,  230, 
utter  shamelessness  and  vmcleanness, 
237;  brilliant  talk,  240;  literary  fa- 
cility, 241 ;  neither  a  coward  nor  in 
any  sense  a  brave  man,  246. 
Dilettantism,  reign  of,  ii.  424. 
Diligence,  honest,  iv.  451,  452. 
Dismal  Science,  the,  iv.  354. 


INDEX 


373 


Divine  Right  of  Kings,  and  of  Squires, 

iv.  258,  259. 
Dizzy,  him  they  call,  v.  11. 
Do-nothing,  the  vulgar,  contrasted  -with 

the  vulgar  Drudge,  iii.  140. 
Dominica,  as  it  is  and  might  be,  v.  17. 
Doring's   Gallery   of   Weimar  Authors, 

i.  2. 
Doubt,  withering  influence  of,  i.  216 ;  the 

inexhaustible    material  which   Action 

fashions  into  Certainty,   iii,   26.     See 

Infidelity,  Scepticism. 
Dresden,  bombardment  of,  i.  337. 
Drill,  Soldier,  iv.  476 ;  Sergeant,  the,  v. 

41 ;  unspeakable  value  of  wise  drill, 

42,  43. 
Drusus,  canal  of,  v.  112. 
Du  Barry's  fovxl  da}-  done,  iii.  336. 
Duelling,  ii.  293 ;  iv.  384. 
Duke  of  Trumps,  the,  and  his  domestic 

service,  iv.  364. 
Dumont's  Souvenirs  sur  Miraheau,  iii. 

414. 
Dunbar,  Archbishop,  v.  339. 
Duncon's,  Samuel,  election  affidavits,  iv. 

329. 
Dunse,  Scotch  Encampment  on  the  Hill 

of,  iv.  239. 
Dupes  and  Impostors,  iv.  151. 
Dutch,  the,  under  William  of  Orange,  v. 

124-126. 
Dutton,    Sir   Thomas,    and    Sir   Hatton 

Cheek,  iv.  392. 
Duty,  infinite  nature  of,  iii.  110  ;  iv.  42  ; 

duty-made-easy,  iii.  246. 

Eagle,  cutting  of  an,  on  human  back,  v. 
207. 

Eddstein.     See  Boner. 

Edmund  Ironside,  v.  254. 

Education,  real  and  so-called,  iii.  141 ;  iv. 
192,  195 ;  how  young  souls  are  trained 
to  live  on  poison,  282  ;  frightful  waste 
of  faculty  and  labour,  398. 

P'galite,  Philippe,  iii.  371. 

Egmont,  Coimt,  v.  120. 

Eighteenth  Century,  the,  prosaic,  i.  263, 
311 ;  in  it  all  the  elements  of  the  French 
Revolution,  415,  461 ;  iii.  178,  204,  444  ; 
an  era  of  Cant,  74  ;  Hypocrisy  and 
Atheism  dividing  the  world  between 
them,  104,  2.30;  iv.  167;  Industrial 
victories  of,  181. 

Einar  Tamberskelver,  v.  246,  289. 

Elizabeth,  Queen,  v.  123,  127. 

Elizabethan  Era,  iv.  180. 

Eloquence,  long-eared,  how  to  acquire 
the  gift  of,  iii.  294. 

Elphegua  baptizes  Tryggveson,  v.  233. 

Emigration,  iii.  39 ;  iv.  199. 

Emma,  Knut's  widow,  v.  285. 


Euceladus  betrayed  into  sudden  sneezing, 
iv.  359. 

Enfranchisement,  and  what  it  1ms  led  to, 
iv.  366. 

England,  condition  of,  question,  iv.  119, 
126 ;  England  guiltv  towards  Ireland, 
136,  138 ;  Eras  of  England,  170-185 ; 
whose  the  proprietorship  of  England, 
174 ;  two  tasks  assigned,  175 ;  educa- 
tion of,  194 ;  over-population,  199  ;  her 
History  worthy  of  study,  457-466 ; 
piety  in,  v.  22  ;  History  of,  an  Iliad,  or 
even  almost  a  kind  of  Bible,  26  ;  needs 
to  be  rebuilt  once  every  seventy  years, 
34 ;  'prestige'  of,  on  the  Continent,  35. 

Pause's,  Varnhagen  von.  Memoirs,  iv.  88- 
117 ;  his  peculiar  qualifications,  91 ; 
visit  to  Jean  Paul,  94 ;  fighting  at 
Wagram,  98 ;  his  experiences  at  the 
Court  of  Napoleon,  102;  Rahel,  his 
Wife,  a  kind  of  spiritual  queen  in 
Germany,  106 ;  her  letters,  108 ;  bril- 
liant talk,  110  ;  her  death,  113. 

Envy,  a  putrid  corruption  of  sympathy, 
ii.  389. 

Epics,  the  old,  believed  Histories,  iii.  49  ; 
the  true  Epic  of  oiu:  Time,  162. 

Equality  of  men,  v.  4. 

Era,  a  New,  began  with  Goethe,  ii.  376, 
381,  434.     See  Spiritual. 

Erasmus,  i.  28 ;  v.  137,  317. 

Eric  Blood-axe,  v.  208-210  ;  sons  of,  made 
kings,  217. 

Eric,  Jarl,  v.  223,  243-248 ;  governor  of 
Norway,  247. 

Ernestine  Line  of  Saxon  Princes,  iv.  427, 
434 ;  in  its  disintegrated  state,  441. 

Error,  and  how  to  confute  it,  ii.  4. 

Ethelred  the  Unready  pays  Danegelt,  v. 
233,  250  ;  condition  of  England  under, 
249  ;  driven  into  Normandy,  251 ;  men- 
tioned, 254,  285. 

Etienne,  Printer,  v.  317. 

Etruscan  pottery,  v.  33. 

Europe,  like  a  set  of  parishes,  iv.  59 ;  mo- 
dern revolutionary,  150 ;  over-crowded, 
200.     See  Commonweal,  Feudal. 

Evil,  Origin  of,  speculations  on  the,  iii. 
25 ;  evil,  in  the  widest  sense  of  the 
word,  28;  manfully  fronted,  iv.  192. 
See  Badness,  Right  and  Wrong. 

Exeter-Hall  twaddle,  iv.  309,  350. 

Eyre,  Governor,  rabid  persecution  of, 
V.  12. 

Eyvind,  the  Skaldaspillir,  v.  215,  218. 

Fables,  Four,  i.  471 ;  the  fourteenth 
century  an  age  of  Fable,  ii.  301. 

Fact,  the  smallest  historical,  contrasted 
with  the  grandest  fictitious  event,  iii, 
54,  78.     See  Reality. 


374 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS 


Faith.     See  Believing. 

Falkland,  v.  353,  354. 

Fame,  no  test  of  merit,  i.  206 ;  the  fan- 
tastic article  so  called,  iii.  115.  See 
Popularity. 

Faroer  Saga,  v.  229,  230. 

Fate,  different  ideas  of,  i.  388 ;  of 
Sophocles,  iv.  398. 

Fault,  what  we  mean  by  a,  i.  252. 

Faust,  Goethe's,  emphatically  a  work  of 
Art,  i.  152  ;  the  story  a  Christian  my- 
thus,  154 ;  several  attempts  to  body  it 
forth,  155  ;  Goethe's  success,  156  ;  his 
conception  of  Mephistopheles,  156 ;  of 
Faust  himself,  158  ;  of  Margaret,  163  ; 
the  original  legend,  ii.  307 ;  like  a 
death-song  of  departing  worlds,  431. 

Ferguson  on  Roman  History,  iv.  456. 

Feudal  Europe,  old,  fallen  a-dozing  to 
die,  iii.  270. 

Fichte's  notion  of  the  Literary  Man,  i. 
58 ;  his  Philosophy,  77 ;  ii.  25. 

Fiction,  and  its  kinship  to  lying,  iii.  49 ; 
V.  25. 

Flunky,  the  white,  the  flower  of  nomadic 
servitude,  iv.  364. 

Fontaine,  La,  iv.  93. 

Foolishest,  the,  of  existing  mortals,  iii.  48. 

Forbes,  Duncan,  v.  179. 

Formica-leo,  natural  history  of  the,  iii. 
222. 

Fortuna,  i.  475. 

Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth  Centuries, 
German  Literature  of  the,  ii.  274-332. 

"Four  eights,'  the  reformed  workman's, 
v.  31,  35. 

Fourth  Estate,  beginnings  of  the,  iii.  113 ; 
its  energetic  youth,  202. 

Fox,  George,  i.  73 ;  v.  155  ;  quarrel  with 
Lord  Shelburne,  157 ;  displaced,  158 ; 
mentioned,  161. 

France,  scandalous  condition  of,  v.  21. 

France  and  Germany,  mutual  history  of, 
v.  49-59;  French  'loss  of  honour,'  54  ; 
delirious  mendacity,  55 ;  '  men  of 
genius,'  56 ;  given  up  to  a  strong  de- 
lusion, 57. 

Francis  i.  's  broken  treaties  and  strife  with 
German}-,  v.  50,  53. 

Francia,  Dr.,  iv.  261-321 ;  the  notablest 
of  South -American  Dictators,  271 ; 
parentage  and  schooling,  381 ;  perhaps 
the  justest  Advocate  that  ever  took 
briefs  in  that  distant  country,  286  ;  an 
unjust  judge  discomfited,  291 ;  hypo- 
chondria, 293 ;  Secretary  of  a  Paraguay 
National  Congress,  295 ;  retires  into 
privacy,  296  ;  his  personal  appearance, 
and  library,  297  ;  gets  himself  declared 
Dictator,  299 ;  a  conspiracy  detected, 
aud  forty  persona  executed,  301 ;  two 


harvests  in  one  season,  303 ;  his  lease 

of  Paraguay,  305 ;  Funeral  Eulogium, 

307  ;  his  message  to  the  English  Nation, 

311;  his   'Workman's  Gallows,'  314; 

mode   of  life,   316 ;   treatment  of  M. 

Bonpland,  318  ;  rumoured  quarrel  with 

his   Father,    319 ;    his   life    of  labour 

ended,  320. 
Frederick,    Elector,    der   Streitbare,   iv. 

415. 
Frederick  the  Pacific,  iv.  415  ;  differences 

with  Kunz  von  Kauf  ungen,   418 ;   his 

two  children  stolen  and  recovered,  420. 
Frederick  the  Wise,  who  saved  Luther 

from  the  Diet  of  Worms,  iv.  428. 
Frederick,    August,    the    big    King    of 

Poland,  iv.  4S7. 
Frederick  the  Great  at  Dresden,  i.  334, 

337 ;  Voltaire's  visit  to,  427 ;  his  notion 

of    Shakespeare,    453 ;    a    Philosophe 

King,  iii.  213. 
Freedom,  a  higher,  than  freedom  from 

oppression,  ii.  82. 
Freemasonry,  Cagliostro's,  iii.  284. 
Free   Trade,    in  all    senses  and  to    all 

lengths,  V.  2,  32. 
French  Poetry,  i.  454 ;  philosophy,  465 ; 

Revolution,  not  yet  completed,  iv.  149 ; 

Convention,  159 ;  Priesthood  destroyed, 

161. 
Friendship,   in  the  old  heroic  sense,   i. 

308 ;  v.  168. 
Froben,  Printer,  v.  317. 
Froste-Thing,  v.  211. 
Fugger- Anton,  of  Augsburg,  ii.  314. 
Fuller,  Church  History  cited,  v.  316, 

Gadarenes  Swinery,  iv.  362. 

Gallows,  terror  of  the,  iii.  395 ;  Dr. 
Francia's  'workman's  gallows,'  iv.  314. 

Gemblours,  v.  124. 

Genius  ever  a  secret  to  itself,  iii.  5,  10 ; 
iv.  49.     See  Original  Man. 

Gentleman,  modern,  and  meagre  Pattern- 
Figure,  iii.  324.     See  Respectability. 

George,  Duke  of  Saxony,  whom  Luther 
thought  so  little  of,  iv.  430. 

Gerard,  Balthazar,  v.  126. 

German  Literature,  State  of,  i.  26-86; 
foreign  ignorance  of,  28  ;  charge  of  bad 
taste,  36 ;  German  authors  not  speci- 
ally poor,  43 ;  high  character  of  German 
poetry,  63 ;  charge  of  Mysticism,  70 ; 
Irreligion,  84 ;  First  era  of  German 
Literature,  ii.  276,  343  ;  phj^sical 
science  unfolds  itself,  280 ;  Didactic 
period,  283 ;  Fable  literature,  300 ;  on 
all  hands  an  aspect  of  full  progress, 
311 ;  rudiments  of  a  new  spiritual 
era,  346 ;  for  two  centuries  in  the  sere 
leaf,  425. 


INDEX 


375 


Germany  become  honourably  Prussian, 
V.  3. 

Germany  and  France,  mutual  history  of, 
V.  49-59 ;  Germany  welded  into  a 
nation,  59. 

Gcsta  Romanorum,  the,  ii.  301,  304. 

Ghent,  v.  104,  106,  109,  110 ;  Pacification 
of,  123 ;  mentioned,  127. 

Gigmanity,  literary,  ii.  130,  406. 

Gin,  the  most  authentic  demon  in  our 
times,  iv.  144. 

Girondins,  the,  iv.  189. 

Glasgow  Thugs,  iv.  119,  143,  149. 

Glasgow  University,  portrait  of  Knox  in, 
V.  331. 

Glasnevin,  in  Ireland,  v.  40. 

God,  the  Living,  no  cunninglj'-devised 
fable,  iii.  233 ;  judgments  of,  272. 

Godlike,  the,  vanished  from  the  world, 
iii.  31. 

Goethe's  pictorial  criticism,  i.  61 ;  his 
Poetry,  65 ;  his  Works,  198-257 ;  his 
Autobiography,  203;  unexampled  re- 
putation, 205 ;  the  Teacher  and  Ex- 
emplar of  his  age,  208;  Werter  and 
Gotz  von  Berlichingcn,  211,  217 ;  iv. 
57 ;  his  notions  on  suicide,  i.  222 ; 
Wilhelvi  Meister,  224-242 ;  spiritual 
manhood,  243  ;  singularly  emblematic 
intellect,  244 ;  a  master  of  Humanity 
and  of  Poetry,  248 ;  not  a  '  German 
Voltaire,'  249,  251;  his  faults,  254; 
his  prose,  ii.  248  ;  his  intercourse  with 
Schiller,  186 ;  Goethe's  Portrait,  371 ; 
Death  of  Goethe,  374-384 ;  beginning 
of  a  New  Era,  376;  Goethe's  Works, 
386-443 ;  his  greatness,  398 ;  his  Wahr- 
heit  und  Dichtung,  402  ;  childhood  and 
parentage,  407 ;  his  father's  hatred  of 
the  French  Army,  409  ;  beautiful  Gret- 
chen,  415 ;  at  Leipzig  University,  416  ; 
studies  for  the  Law,  418 ;  the  good 
Frederike,  419  ;  Goethe's  goodness  and 
badness,  421 ;  the  German  Chaos,  424 ; 
first  literary  productions,  427 ;  settles 
in  Weimar,  428  ;  inward  life  as  re- 
corded in  his  Writings,  430 ;  tribute 
from  Fifteen  Englishmen,  432 ;  his 
spiritual  significance,  436 ;  a  contem- 
porary of  Mirabeau,  iii.  435  ;  on  Rever- 
ence and  Education,  iv.  474,  475 ;  his 
Mason's  Song,  481 ;  his  notion  about 
the  Christian  Religion,  v.  29 ;  non- 
vocal  schools,  40.  See  Faust,  Helena, 
Novelle,  The  Tale,  Madame  de  Stael. 

Gold  Harald,  v.  219,  220. 

Goldsmith,  i.  214 ;  iii.  117. 

Good,  no,  that  is  possible  but  shall  one 
day  be  real,  iii.  37 ;  in  Goodness  the 
surest  instinct  for  the  Good,  274. 

Good  Man,  the,  ever  a  mystic  creative 


centre  of  Goodness,  iii.  IGO ;  the  work- 
ing of  the  good  and  brave  endures  lite- 
rally forever,  iv.  116.     See  ISIan. 

Gorm  of  Denmark,  v.  204,  2l0,  269, 
273. 

Gottsched,  Goethe's  interview  with,  ii. 
417. 

Goulart,  Simon,  v.  314,  323 ;  gives  Tyn- 
dale's  portrait  for  Knox's,  326,  328. 

Government,  true,  the  showing  what  to 
do,  iii.  272 ;  need  of  a  real,  in  England, 
V.  308. 

Granger,  v.  329. 

Graphic,  secret  of  being,  iii.  57. 

Gray,  i.  214. 

Great  Men,  the  Fire-pillars  of  the  world, 
ii.  166,  378,  435;  iii.  89;  and  Fire- 
eaters,  iv.  36 ;  on  the  Greatness  of,  ii. 
387 ;  iv.  33.     See  Man. 

Greek  Consecration  of  the  Flesh,  iii.  252 ; 
History,  iv.  456,  158. 

Grey-goose,  law  book,  v.  292. 

Grillparzer's,  Franz,  superior  merits  for 
a  playwright,  i.  361 ;  his  worst  Play, 
the  Ahnfrau,  362;  his  Kanig  Ottokars 
Gliick  und  Ende,  365. 

Grimm,  iii.  208. 

Gudbrand,  v.  261,  266. 

Gudrod  Ljome,  v.  206, 

Gudrun,  'Sunbeam  of  the  Grove,'  v. 
227. 

Gueux,  V.  119,  121. 

Gule-Thing,  v.  211. 

Gunhild,  v.  210,  218. 

Gunpowder,  invention  and  benefit  of,  ii. 
317. 

Gyda,  wife  of  Fairhair,  v.  204. 

Gylle  Krist,  v.  299-302. 

Hakon- Jarl,  v.  217-230 ;  a  heathen  '  ritu- 
alist,' 221-223;  forced  to  fly,  killed  by 
slave,  last  support  of  heathenry,  228 ; 
becomes  Hakon  the  Bad,  229 ;  discovery 
of  America  in  reign  of,  230. 

Hakon,  Jarl,  tilted  into  the  sea,  v.  258- 
260 ;  breaks  his  oath,  governor  of 
Norway,  drowned  in  Pentland  Firth, 
278. 

Hakon  the  Good,  adopted  by  Athelstan, 
v.  210 ;  King  of  Norway,  211 ;  zealous 
Christian,  209-214;  alarm  fires,  death, 
215. 

Hakon's  Hella,  v.  216. 

Hakon  the  Old,  v.  305-307. 

Half-and-Halfness,  ii.  173  ;  iii.  107,  233  ; 
the  one  thing  wholly  despicable  and 
forgetable,  253. 

Halfdan  Haaleg,  v.  206. 

Hamilton,  Archbishop,  v.  354. 

Hamilton  Palace,  absurd  portrait  of  Knox 
in,  V.  332. 


376 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS 


Hamilton,  Patrick,  v.  318. 
Hampden,  John,  iv.  322. 
Happiness -controversy,    the  foolish,    ii. 
189 ;    illustration    of    the    '  Greatest- 
Happiness'  principle,  iii.  282. 
Harald  Blue-tooth,  v.  211,  214,  219,  221, 

243,  273. 
Harald  Gr«nske,  v.  237,  252. 
Harald  Greyfell,  v.  217-220. 
Harald  Haarfagr,  v.  203 ;  marries  Gyda, 
six    or   seven   wives,    204 ;    parts   his 
kingdom,  208 ;  sends  Baby  Hakon  to 
Athelstan,  209. 
Harald  Haref  oot,  v.  278,  285. 
Harald  Hardrade,  v.  290 ;  joint  King  of 
Norway,    292 ;     death    at    Stamford 
Bridge,  295. 
Harald  Herdebred,  v.  302. 
Harald  Mund,  v.  302. 
Harda-Knut,  v.  278,  285-288. 
Hater,  a  good,  still  a  desideratum,  i.  281. 
Hatred  an  inverse  love,  ii.  389. 
Hazlitt,  iii.  32. 
Health,  meaning  and  value  of,  iv.  38,  51 ; 

the  highest  temporal  good,  479. 
Hearne,  v.  249  n. 

Heart,  a  loving,  the  beginning  of  know- 
ledge, iii.  57  ;  ii.  394. 
Heath's,  Can-ion,  Life  of  Oliver  Crom- 
well, iv.  323. 
Heeren,    Professor,   and  his  rub-a-dub 

style  of  moral-sublime,  i.  320. 
Eddenbuch,  the,   ii.   220 ;    specimen  of 
the  old  poetry,  223 ;   connection  with 
the  Nihelungen,  229. 
Helena,  Goethe's,  a  dainty  little  Phan- 
tasmagoria,  i.   148 ;   half -literal,  half- 
parabolic  style,  148  ;  Helena,  part  of  a 
continuation  of  Faust,  152 ;  introduc- 
tory Notice  by  the  Author,  164 ;  con- 
densed elucidatory  sketch  of  the  poem, 
with  extracts,  163-195. 
Helvetius's  game-preserves,  iii.  210. 
Hengst  and  Horsa,  iii.  175  ;  iv.  172. 
Henri  ii.,  how,  got  Metz,  v.  53. 
Heptarchy,  the,  v.  1. 
Herbert,  Philip,  and  James  Ramsav,  iv. 

390. 
Herder,  ii.  148,  422. 
Heroic  poems  and  heroic  lives,  i.  316 ;  ii. 

100 ;  iii.  249. 
Heroisms,  why,  are  not  done  now,  iv. 

402. 
Hero-worship  perennial  in  the  human 
bosom,  iii.  74 ;  iv.  24.  ;  almost  the  only 
creed  that  can  never  grow  obsolete,  ii. 
389. 
Heyne,  Life  of,  i.  319-354 ;  parentage, 
boyhood  and  extreme  penury,  322 ;  a 
poor  incipient  gerund-grinder,  325;  a 
school-triumph,  327  ;  miseries  of  a  poor 


scholar,  328 ;  his  edition  of  TibuUus, 
3.33 ;  first  interview  with  Theresa  Weiss, 
335 ;  driven  from  Dresden  by  the  Prus- 
sian bombardment,  337  ;  marries,  340  ; 
his  "Wife's  devoted  courage,  342 ;  aj)- 
pointed  to  a  professorship  in  Gottingen, 
342 ;  his  Wife's  death,  345 ;  marries 
again,  346 ;  University  labours,  347  ; 
death,  349  ;  successful  struggle  with 
adversity,  iv.  69. 
Higgins,  General,  O',  Director  of  Chile, 

iv.  267. 
History,  on,  ii.  83-95 ;  the  basis  of  all 
knowledge,  83 ;  vain  Philosophies  of, 
85 ;  iii.  47 ;  the  more  important  part 
of,  lost  without  recovery,  ii.  87,  167 ; 
artists  and  artisans  of,  90 ;  infinity, 
91 ;  iii.  205  ;  the  history  of  a  nation's 
Poetry,  the  essence  of  its  entire  doings, 
ii.  341 ;  History  the  essence  of  innu- 
merable Biographies,  iii.  46,  the  true 
Poetry,  79 ;  what  things  are  called 
'  Histories,'  80,  326  ;  on  History  again, 
iii.  167-176;  the  Message  from  the 
wliole  Past  to  each  man,  168 ;  Uni- 
versal History  the  Autobiography  of 
INIankind,  173  ;  the  grand  sacred  Epos, 
or  Bible  of  World-History,  250 ;  Scott's 
Historical  Novels,  iv.  77  ;  unspeakable 
value  of  contemporary  memoirs,  235 ; 
of  a  sincere  Portrait,  405 ;  who  is  a 
Historical  Character,  411;  study  of, 
456. 

Hitzig's  Lives  of  Hoffmann  and  Werner, 
i.  88. 

Hoffmann's  quick  eye  and  fastidious  feel- 
ings, i.  121. 

Hohenstauffen  Emperors,  last  of  the,  ii. 
276. 

HohenzoUerns,  the  Brandenburg,  and 
their  talent  for  annihilating  rubbish, 
iv.  436. 

Holbach,  Baron  d',  iii.  211 ;  his  Philo- 
sophes  and  Philosophesses,  218. 

Holies,  John,  and  his  quarrel  with 
Gervase  Markham,  iv.  385. 

Holyrood  House,  spurious  Knox  portrait 
in,  V.  332. 

Home-poetry,  i.  272,  287. 

Homer,  i.  276;  ii.  271. 

Hoop,  Pere,  iii.  218. 

Hope's,  Mr.,  Essay  on  the  Origin  and 
Prospects  of  Man,  iii.  33. 

Horn's,  Franz,  merits  as  a  literary 
historian,  i.  27. 

Horse,  tlie,  willing  to  work  can  find  food 
and  shelter,  iv.  135;  Laissez-faire  ap- 
plied to  horses,  142. 

Horsemanship,  Gaucho,  iv.  288. 

Horses,  Farmer  Hodge's,  iv.  370. 

Houtmann,  Cornelius,  v.  129. 


INDEX 


877 


Hume's  scepticism,  i.  80;  ii.   27,  378; 

Hume  and  Johuson  contrasted,  133 ; 

fifteen  Atheists  at  one  cast,  iii.  230. 
Humility,  Christian,  i.  458 ;  blessed  are 

the  humble,  they  that  are  not  known, 

iv.  115. 
Humour,  sensibility  the  essence  of,  i.  IG, 

283 ;    the   finest   perfection   of   poetic 

genius,  ii.  200. 
Huss,  John,  ii.  318. 
Hypocris}',  old-established,  v.  13. 

Idea,  society  the  embodiment  of  an,  iii. 
13  ;  great  men,  iv.  37.     See  Man. 

Idealism,  ii.  23. 

Ideals,  iv.  165. 

Idleness,  doom  of,  iv.  132  ;  how  it  in- 
evitably rots,  357 ;  Black  and  White 
idleness,  378. 

Ignavia,  the  general  demon  of,  iv.  362. 

Ignorant,  right  of  the,  to  be  guided  by 
the  Wise,  iv.  157. 

Iliad,  Homer's,  v.  25. 

Impossibility,  every  genius  an,  till  he 
appear,  i.  273 ;  Mirabeau's  notion  of 
impossibilities,  iii.  448. 

Impossible,  not  a  good  word  to  have  often 
in  the  mouth,  iv.  190.     See  New. 

Imposture,  Empire  of,  in  flames,  iii.  399. 

Improvisators,  literary,  ii.  2 ;  iv.  81. 

Indignation,  i.  281. 

Industrialisms,  English,  iv.  175. 

Infidelity,  iii.- 105. 

Inheritance,  infinite,  of  every  human 
soul,  iii.  321. 

Injustice,  the  one  thing  utterlj"-  intoler- 
able, iv.  145,  148 ;  nothing  unjust  can 
continue  in  this  world,  154,  105. 

Inspiration  still  possible,  ii.  346,  377 ; 
iii.  5,  52. 

Intellect,  celebrated  march  of,  iii.  18  ; 
what  might  be  done,  with  intellect 
enough,  iv.  236,  257. 

Intellects,  twenty -four  million,  awakened 
into  action,  iv.  194. 

Inventions,  humap,  i.  464 ;  ii.  69 ;  German 
contributions  to  the  general  store,  316  ; 
Irish  ditto,  iii.  53. 

Invisible  World,  the,  within  and  about 
us,  ii.  28. 

Ireland,  tragic  mismanagement  of,  iv. 
136 ;  Irish  national  character  degraded, 
137  ;  England  invaded  bj'  Irish  desti- 
tution, 138 ;  a  black,  353. 

Ironbeard,  v.  239  ;  Tryggveson  married 
to  daughter  of,  240. 

Irving,  Death  of  Edward,  iii.  319. 

Israelitish  History,  significance  of,  1.  239 ; 
iii.  247.     See  Bible. 

Iturbide,  'the  Napoleon  of  Mexico,'  iv. 
261. 


Jacobis,  the  two,  i.  48 ;  ii.  148. 

•Jamaica  Committee,  the  v.  12. 

James  i.,  iv.  389,  392. 

James  vi.,  Beza's  dedication  to,  v.  313; 
Icon  of,  314. 

Jenny  Geddes's  stool,  flight  of,  iv.  226, 
239. 

Jesuits,  skill  and  zeal  of  the,  iii.  188 ; 
Jesuitism  sick  unto  death,  212 ;  iv. 
284  ;  Jesuit  Georgel,  iii.  341. 

John,  Don,  v.  123,  124. 

John  of  Lej^dcn, — of  Bromwicham,  v. 
3,  13. 

Johnson's,  Dr.,  preventive  against  bad 
biographies,  i.  1 ;  his  sound  practical 
sense,  214  ;  a  small  occiurrence,  iii.  55  ; 
Boswell's  Life  of  Johnson,  62-135  ;  his 
existence  a  reality  which  he  transacted 
awake,  90  ;  poverty  and  sore  obstruc- 
tion, 91 ;  boyish  turn  for  royalty,  93 ; 
college  mortifications  and  stubborn 
pride,  93 ;  his  brave-hearted  Wife,  96  ; 
a  literary  career,  98 ;  letter  to  Lord 
Chesterfield,  102;  his  distracted  era, 
and  manful  honesty,  104 ;  his  Parlia- 
mentary Debates,  113  ;  tears  of  sacred 
triumph,  115  ;  a  little  circle  around 
the  Wise  man,  117 ;  the  conversation 
of  what  was  genuine  in  Toryism,  l2l ; 
a  brave  man,  122 ;  a  clear  hater  of 
Cant,  126 ;  merciful,  affectionate 
nature,  127 ;  market-place  at  Utto- 
xeter,  129;  politeness,  130;  prejudices, 
131 ;  Johnson  and  Hume,  133 ;  his 
house  in  Gough  Square,  a  visit  to,  114  ; 
mentioned,  iv.  169 ;  v.  19. 

John  the  Steadfast,  iv.  429. 

John  Frederick  the  Magnanimous,  iv. 
429,  434,  435,  441. 

Jomsburg,  celebrated  vikings  of,  v.  222, 
224,  244. 

Jonson's,  Ben,  war-tuck,  iv.  392. 

Jonson,  V.  168.     See  Cruthers. 

Juliers,  siege  of,  iv.  394. 

Kant's  Philosophy,  i.  74;  ii.  23;  Schiller's 
opinion  of,  211 ;  two  things  that  strike 
one  dumb,  v.  29,  30. 

Kaufungen,  Kunz  von,  iv.  416,  447 ;  ex- 
asperations with  Elector  Frederick, 
417 ;  steals  his  two  Sons,  420 ;  be- 
headed, 424. 

Keats's  weak-eyed  sensibility,  i.  277. 

Kempis,  Thomas  k,  ii.  310. 

Kennet,  v.  251  n. 

Kepler's  true  love  of  wisdom,  1.  417. 

King's,  Nature's,  and  their  poor  dog- 
hutch  kingdoms,  iii.  92;  a  true  man 
must  tend  to  be  King  of  his  own  world, 
iv.  305 ;  and  slaves,  135.  See  Original 
Man. 


378 


MISCELLANEOUS     ESSAYS 


Kingship  and  politeness,  v.  19. 

Kirkcaldy  of  Grange,  v.  347. 

Klingemann,  Dr.  August,  the  most  in- 
disputable of  playwrights,  i.  369 ;  his 
Ahasuer,  370;  Faust,  and  his  melo- 
dramatic contract  with  the  Devil,  372. 

Klopstock,  i.  47  ;  ii.  148  ;  his  Allegory  of 
The  Two  Muses,  363. 

Knaves,  given  a  world  of,  what  must 
come  of  it,  iii.  41. 

Knight,  Mr.  Charles,  v.  360. 

Know  thyself,  iii.  251. 

Knox,  John,  one  of  the  truest  of  the  true, 
iv.  43 ;  WiUde's  picture  of,  a  worthless 
failure,  410 ;  author  of  the  Puritan 
revolution,  458  ;  his  influence  on  Scot- 
land, 459  ;  beautiful  Scotch  humour  in 
him,  480  ;  Beza's  Icon  of,  and  inane 
article  on,  v.  318;  illustrative  pieces 
from  writings  and  actions  of,  333 ; 
called  to  ministry,  343 ;  in  French 
galleys,  344,  345 ;  royal  chaplain  in 
England,  347;  marries  Marjory  Bowes, 
348  ;  History  of  the  Reformation,  352. 

Knox,  Miss,  portrait  in  possession  of,  v. 
332. 

Kotzebue,  August  von,  a  warning  to  all 
playwrights,  i.  359 ;  ii.  361,  364 ;  iv.  35. 

Labour,  and  free  Effort,  iii.  28 ;  infinite 
significance  of,  251;  true  organisation 
of,  iv.  357 ;  only  the  Noble  labour 
willingly  with  their  whole  strength, 
359.     See  Work,  "Working  Classes. 

Laing,  David,  v.  322,  349;  Works  of 
Knox  cited,  335. 

Laing,  S.,  v.  243;  translation  of  Snorro 
cited,  216. 

Laissez-faire,  iv.  131 ;  applied  to  horses, 
142 ;  as  good  as  done  its  part  in  many 
provinces,  155,  203  ;  when  a  reasonable 
cry,  157. 

Lamotte-Valois,  the  Countess  de,  iii. 
306 ;  her  pedigree,  birth,  character  and 
career,  350-399. 

Langebeck  cited,  v.  249. 

Languiddry,  Laird  of,  v.  320. 

Largs,  battle  of,  v.  305-307. 

Laughter,  worth  of  true,  iv.  403. 

Laurence,  IMr.  Samuel,  v.  326. 

Lavater  and  Cagliostro,  iii.  297. 

Legge,  Mr.,  v.  143,  144. 

Leif  Ericson,  v.  267. 

Leopold  of  Anhalt-Dessau,  iv.  442. 

Lessing,  i.  40. 

Letter-writing,  conventional,  iv.  61 ;  sub- 
jective, 108;  veracious,  233;  vacuous 
and  inane,  235. 

Leyden,  siege  of,  v.  122. 

Liberty,  what  really  meant  by,  v.  7  ;  new 
definitions  of,  27. 


Life,  a  means  to  an  end,  iii.  3 ;  infinite 

mystery  of,  249,  328.     See  Man. 
Lindsay,  Sir  David,  v.  343. 
Lion.     See  Soirees. 

Literary  Men,  a  perpetual  priesthood,  i. 
58,  396 ;  ii.  77,  173,  369 ;  iii.  201 ;  de- 
sirable to  pay  them  by  the  quantity 
they  do  not  write,  iv.  26.  See  News- 
paper Editors. 

Literature,  the  influence  of,  i.  396;  ii. 
369;  diseased  self -consciousness,  iii. 
24  ;  froth  and  substance,  58 ;  iv.  278  ; 
domain  of  Belief,  iii.  178 ;  literary 
shampooings,  iv.  57,  76 ;  flesh-flies, 
67  ;  extempore  writing,  78 ;  subjective 
writing,  108;  its  rapid  fermentations, 
V.  25.     See  Read. 

Locke,  and  his  followers,  i.  79 ;  paved 
the  way  for  banishing  Religion  from 
the  world,  215  ;  ii.  64  ;  wrote  his  Essay 
in  a  Dutch  garret,  i.  312. 

Lockhart's  Life  of  Burns,  i.  258 ;  of  Scott, 
iv.  6. 

Loncarty,  battle  of,  v.  224,  225. 

Logic,  the  rushlight  of,  ii.  75  ;  logic  and 
its  limits,  iii.  5,  231,  406.  See  Meta- 
physics. 

London  houses  and  house-building,  v.  33. 

London,  siege  of,  by  Svein  and  Trygg- 
veson,  V.  227 ;  by  St.  Olaf,  255. 

Lope  de  Vega,  iv.  34. 

Louis  XI.,  and  Kaiser  Max,  v.  49. 

Louis  XIV. 's  plunderings  of  Europe,  v.  51, 
53;  conquers  Belgium,  130. 

Louis  XV.,  ungodly  age  of,  i.  461 ;  iii. 
180,  213,  34(5;  his  'amende  honorable 
to  God,'  344;  his  German  schemes, 
V.  51. 

Love  the  beginning  of  all  things,  iii.  57, 
394. 

Luther's  prose  a  half -battle,  ii.  148 ;  his 
love  of  music  and  poetry,  160 ;  before 
the  Diet  of  Worms,  161 ;  his  Psalm, 
162;  his  Life  the  latest  prophecy  of 
the  Eternal,  iv.  428. 

Lymfjord,  v.  220,  270. 

Macchiavelli's  opinion  of  Democracy,  iv, 
459. 

Machinery,  Age  of,  ii.  59  ;  iii.  228 ;  super- 
natural, 50.     See  INIechanical. 

Macpherson,  i.  282. 

Magi,  Oriental,  books  of  the,  iii.  252. 

Magna  Charta,  iv.  176. 

Magnus  Barfod,  v.  297,  298. 

Magnus  the  Blind,  v.  299,  301. 

Blagnus  the  Good,  v.  284  ;  baptism,  287 ; 
succeeds  Harda-Knut,  288  ;  shares  his 
kingdom  with  Harald  Hardrade,  292; 
laws,  death,  292. 

Mahomet,  iv.  305. 


INDEX 


379 


Maids,  old  and  young,  Richter's  appeal 

to,  ii.  153. 
Malthusian  controversies,  iv.  200. 
Man  the  clearest  symbol  of  the  Divinity, 

ii.  390 ;  the  life  of  every  man  a  Poem, 

and  Revelation  of  Infinity,  iii.  249,  328. 

See  Good,  Great,  Microcosm,  Original 

Man. 
Manchester,  its  squalor  and  despair  not 

forever  inseparable  from  it,   iv.   181 ; 

once  organic,  a  blessing  instead  of  an 

affliction,  199. 
Manhood,  i.  2!/5 ;  suffrage,  v.  4. 
Marie-Antoinette,  iii.  337,  349,  362,  383. 
Marriage-law,    strange  state  of  the,   in 

Germany,  i.   129 ;   the  Marriage-cove- 
nant, iii.  236  ;  marriage  by  the  month, 

iv.  368. 
Marlborough,  and  the  History  of  England, 

V.  26  ;  Duchess  of,  143. 
Martin,  General  San,  and  his  march  over 

the  Andes,  iv.  263. 
Martial  Law,  the  unseen  basis  of  all  laws 

whatever,  v.  12. 
Mary,  Bloody,  v.  348,  3.51. 
aiary  of  Guise,  v.  351,  353,  354,  356. 
Mary  Queen  of   Scots,   v.  346 ;    Knox's 

interviews  with,  356-359 ;  mentioned, 

124. 
Mastership  and  servantship  the  only  de- 
livery from  Tyranny  and  Slaverv,  iv. 

362,  367,  379. 
Matthias,  Auchduke,  v.  123,  124. 
Max,  Kaiser,  and  Louis  xi.  v.  49, 113, 114. 
Maxwell,  James,  and  his  insolent  sardonic 

ways,  iv.  389. 
Mayflower,  sailing  of  the,  iv.  179. 
M  'Crie's  Life  of  Knox,  portrait  in,  v.  332. 
Mechanical  Philosophy,   i.  214  ;    its  in- 
evitable    Atheism,     iii.     231.        See 

Machinerj-. 
IMechanism  disturbing  labour,  iv.  141. 
Medea-caldron,  the,  iv.  304. 
Meditation,  iii.  4.     See  Silence. 
Memoirs,  value  of,  if  honest,  iii.  175  ;  iv. 

89. 
Memory,  no  wise,  without  wise  Oblivion, 

iii.  173  ;  iv.  346 ;  the  strange  alchemy 

of,  235,  257. 
Mendelssohn,  author  of  Phcedon,  i.  49. 
Merchant  Princes  of  Germany,  ii.  313. 
Mercifulness,  true,  iii.  127. 
Merit,  Lord  Palmerston's  notion  of,  v.  38. 
Merritt,  Mr.  Henry,  v.  366,  367. 
Metaphysics,  the  disease  of,   perennial, 

iii.  25  ;  the  forerunner  of  good,  40. 
Metz,  German  claim  to,  v.  53. 
Microcosm,  Man  a,  or  epitomised  mirror 

of  the  Universe,  iii.  76,  181.    See  Man. 
Might  and  Right,  iv.  123,  152,  173.     See 

Rights. 


INIillenniums,  v.  8. 

Milton,  i.  312;  iv.  79;  mw<e  Miltons,  40. 

Minnesingers.     See  Swabian  Era. 

JMinorities,  down  to  minority  of  one,  iv. 
360. 

Mirabeau,  iii.  403-480  ;  by  far  the  best 
gifted  of  all  the  notables  of  the  French 
Revolution,  412;  his  Father,  the  tough 
choleric  old  Friend  of  Men,  418 ;  the 
Mirabeaus  from  Florence,  419 ;  a  not- 
able kindred,  exempt  from  blockheads 
but  liable  to  blackguards,  420 ;  talent 
for  choosing  Wives,  422 ;  gruff  courtier- 
ship,  422 ;  at  the  battle  of  Casano,  424 ; 
of  the  whole  strange  kindred,  no 
stranger  figure  than  the  Friend  of 
Men,  426  ;  his  literary  and  other  gifts 
and  eccentricities,  429  ;  his  domestic 
difliculties,  and  Rhadamanthine  strug- 
gles, 431  ;  birth  of  Gabriel  Honore, 
last  of  the  Mirabeaus,  434  ;  education, 
the  scientific  paternal  hand  versus 
Nature  and  others,  436  ;  sent  to  board- 
ing-school, 438 ;  banished  to  Saintes  ; 
fresh  misdemeanours ;  Lcttre  de  Cachet, 
and  the  Isle  of  Rhe,  441 ;  fighting  in 
Corsica,  442  ;  the  old  Marquis's  critical 
survey  of  his  strange  offspring,  444  ; 
the  General  Overturn,  446 ;  the  one 
man  who  might  have  saved  France, 
446  ;  marriage,  450  ;  banished  to  Man- 
osque,  452 ;  in  the  castle  of  If,  453 ;  a 
stolen  visit  from  his  Brother,  455;  at 
Pontarlier,  457  ;  Mirabeau  and  Sophie 
Monnier  escape  into  Holland,  461 ;  in 
the  castle  of  Vincennes,  463 ;  before 
the  BesanQon  and  Aix  Parlements, 
466 ;  the  world's  esteem  now  quite 
against  him,  468 ;  States-General,  his 
flinging-up  of  the  handful  of  dust,  473  ; 
deputy  for  Aix,  474 ;  victory  and 
death,  475. 

Miracles,  the  age  of,  now  and  ever,  iii. 
42. 

Miserv  not  so  much  the  cause  as  the 
effect  of  Immorality,  iii.  272.  See 
AVretchedness. 

Moderation,  and  other  fine  names,  ii.  173. 
See  Half-and-halfness. 

Montagu,  Lady  Mary  Wortley,  v.  75-77  ; 
introduces  inoculation,  72 ;  friendship 
■mih  Pope,  73 ;  Town  Eclogues,  74 ; 
letters  of,  77. 

Montaigne,  Michel  de,  v.  65,  69. 

Montesquieu,  v.  78-86  ;  Lcttres  Persanes, 
79 ;  Esprit  des  Lois,  82 ;  his  private 
character,  85. 

Moral  Sense,  the,  a  perennial  miracle, 
V.  28. 

More's,  Hannah,  anti-German  trumpet- 
blast,  ii.  334. 


380 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS 


Moritz,  Elector,  and  his  superior  jockej-- 

ship,  iv.  433. 
Moses,  the  Hebrew  outlaw,  1.  398. 
Miiller,  Friedrich,  i.  155. 
Milliner,  Dr.,  supreme  over  playwrights, 

i.  379 ;  his  Newspaper  qualifications, 

391. 
Munch,  V.  305  n.,  220,  288  n. 
Muse's  Threnodie,  The,  v.  354;   cited, 

355. 
Music,  Luther's  love  of,  ii.  160  ;  divinest 

of  all  the  utterances  allowed  to  man, 

iv.  397  ;  condemned  to  madness,  402. 
Mystery,    deep  significance  of,    iii.    16 ; 

mystical  and  intellectual  enjoj'ment  of 

an  object,  iii.  205,  318. 
Mysticism,  i.  70  ;  ii.  22,  54. 
Mythologies,  the  old,  once  Philosophies, 

iii.  49.     See  Pan,  Sphinx. 

Naigeon's  Life  of  Diderot,  iii.  183. 

Names,  inextricable  confusion  of  Saxon 
princely,  iv.  426 ;  Mirabeau's  exj)res- 
sive  Nicknames,  iii.  472. 

Napoleon's  treatment  of  Germany,  v. 
52. 

Narratives,  difference  between  mere,  and 
the  broad  actual  History,  ii.  89  ;  the 
grand  source  of  our  modern  fictions, 
302 ;  mimic  biographies,  iii.  47  ;  narra- 
tive, the  staple  of  speech,  170. 

National  characteristics,  i.  28,  256,  287 ; 
iv.  42. 

Nature,  not  dead  matter,  but  the  living 
mysterious  Garment  of  the  Unseen,  ii. 
29,  iii.  3,  328,  385 ;  Book  of,  ii.  91,  iv. 
283  ;  successive  Revelations,  ii.  94. 

Necker,  Baron  de,  v.  87-99  ;  made 
Comptroller-general,  89 ;  marriage,  90 ; 
resigns,  91 ;  recalled,  92 ;  retires  to 
Copet,  95  ;  his  writings,  98. 

Necessity,  submission  to,  iv.  123,  146. 

Needlewomen,  distressed,  iv.  306 ;  v.  5. 

Negro  population,  our,  up  to  the  ears  in 
pumpkins,  iv.  350 ;  need  to  be  emanci- 
pated from  their  indolence,  355,  375 ; 
the  Negro  alone  of  wild  men  can  live 
among  men  civilised,  358 ;  injustices 
of  Negro  slavery,  358 ;  how  to  abolish 
them,  368,  377;  Bla,ck  Adscripti  glelw, 
.380. 

Netherlands,  the,  wars  in,  iv.  392 ;  v.  111- 
138 ;  description  of,  100 ;  rivers,  103 ; 
commerce  of,  104  ;  government  of.  111, 
134  ;  history  of,  111-138 ;  provinces  of 
the  kingdom  of,  133  ;  settlements  of, 
134 ;  provision  for  education,  136 ;  cele- 
brated men  in  Arts  and  Science,  137. 

New,  growth  of  the,  iv.  161 ;  New  Eras, 
170  ;  all  wew  things  strange  and  unex- 
pected, 180. 


Nibelungen  Lied,  the,  ii.  216-273 ;  an  old 
German  Epos  of  singular  poetic  in- 
terest, 234 ;  extracts,  and  condensed 
sketch  of  the  Poem,  238 ;  antiquarian 
researches  into  its  origin,  265. 

Nigger  Question,  the,  iv.  348-383  ;  v.  5-7- 

Night-Moth,  Tragedy  of  the,  i.  469. 

Nineteenth  Century,  our  poor,  and  its 
indestructible  Romance,  iii.  327 ;  at 
once  destitute  of  faith  and  terrified  at 
scepticism,  iv.  49,  55  ;  an  age  all  calcu- 
lated for  strangling  of  heroisms,  402. 
See  Present  Time,  European  Revolu- 
tion. 

Nobility,  Ig-  i.  309 ;  iv.  359. 

Nobleness,  old,  may  become  a  new  reality, 
ii.  81.     See  Aristocracy. 

Nomadism,  iv.  364,  367. 

Norman  Nobles,  iv.  146 ;  Normans  and 
Saxons  originally  of  one  stock,  175 ; 
invasion,  the,  v.  1. 

North,  Mr.  Henry,  of  Mildenhall,  iv. 
327. 

North,  Lord,  v.  156,  157. 

Novalis's  perplexity  with  Wilhelm  Meis- 
ter,  i.  231 ;  ii.  41 ;  speculations  on 
French  Philosophy,  i.  465 ;  account  of, 
ii.  1-55 ;  parentage  and  youth,  9 ; 
death  of  his  first  love,  12 ;  literary 
labours,  18 ;  illness  and  death,  19 ; 
his  Idealism,  28 ;  extracts  from  his 
Lchrlinge  zu  Sais,  etc. ,  30 ;  Philoso- 
phic Fragments,  39 ;  Hymns  to  the 
Night,  and  Heinrich  von  Ofterdingen, 
44 ;  intellectual  and  moral  character- 
istics, 51. 

Novelle,  translated  from  Goethe,  ii.  480- 
496. 

Novels,  Fashionable,  iii.  47 ;  partially 
living,  52 ;  what  they  must  come  to, 
178  ;  Scott's  Historical  Novels,  iv.  77. 

Newspaper-Editors,  the  Mendicant  Friars 
of  these  days,  ii.  77  ;  their  xmwearied 
straw-thrashing,  iv.  81.  See  Fourth 
Estate. 

Obedience,  duty  of,  iv.  189. 

Oblivion,  the  dark  page  on  which 
Memory  writes,  iii.  173.    See  Memory. 

Obscene  wit,  iii.  220. 

Ochlenschlager,  Palnatoke  of,  v.  222. 

Olaf  the  Thick-set  (called  also  Saint),  v. 
252-284  ;  London  Bridge  broken  down 
by,  255  ;  engineering  skill,  258,  270  ; 
beaten  by  Knut ;  has  to  hide,  74  ;  re- 
turns to  Norway,  Snorro's  account  of, 
279-281 ;  dream,  death  at  Stickelstad, 
282  ;  '  Saint '  ever  after,  283. 

Olaf  the  Tranquil,  v.  296. 

Olaf  Tryggveson,  v.  230-247  ;  in  Dublin, 
227  ;  King  of  Norway,  228 ;  conversion 


INDEX 


381 


to  Christianity,  231 ;  at  Andover,  233 ; 
Thor's  gold  collar  sent  to  Sigrid,  238 ; 
marries  Ironbeard's  daughter,  240  ; 
marries  Thyri,  splendour  of  his  ships, 
last  fight,  death,  242-247. 

Oliva,  the  Demoiselle  d',  iii.  372. 

Onund,  v.  269,  270. 

Opera,  the,  iv.  397-403. 

Orange,  Maurice,  Prince  of,  v.  127,  128, 
129,  130. 

Oratory  and  Rhetoric,  iii.  7. 

Original  Man,  difficulty  of  understanding 
an,  i.  249,  252,  273;  ii.  1,  16G;  iii. 
403,  479  ;  iv.  105 ;  the  world's  injustice, 
i.  317,  399;  iii.  97;  uses  of,  ii.  377, 
381,  383,  398;  iv.  309;  no  one  with 
absolutely  no  originality,  iii.  86 ;  an 
original  Scoundrel,  254 :  the  world's 
wealth  consists  solely  in  its  original 
men,  and  what  they  do  for  it,  405.  See 
Man. 

Ormiston,  Laird  of,  v.  320,  336,  339. 

Over-population,  iv.  200 ;  '  preventive 
check,'  200 ;  infanticide,  202 ;  Emigra- 
tion, 203. 

Overend-Gurney  Bankruptcies,  v.  35. 

Palmerston's,  Lord,  notion  of  merit,  v.  38. 

Pan,  the  ancient  symbol  of,  iii.  75. 

Paper,  rag-,  invention  of,  ii.  317. 

Paradise,  the  dream  of,  iii.  28. 

Paraguay  and  its  people,  iv.  286. 

Paris,  Siege  of,  v.  52,  58. 

Parker,  Sir  PMlip,  iv.  327. 

Parliament,  insufficiency  of,  iv.  l2l  ; 
Parliament  during  the  last  century, 
167;  fighting  by  Parliamentary  Elo- 
quence, 180 ;  Parliamentary  Radical- 
ism, 185;  Parliament,  Long,  an  Elec- 
tion to  the,  322-347  ;  Samuel  Duncon's 
affidavits  concerning  the  election  for 
Suffolk,  329 ;  '  short  and  true  relation ' 
of  the  same  by  Sir  Simonds  D'Ewes, 
336;  his  valuable  Notes  of  the  Long 
Parliament,  344 ;  Penny-Newspaper, 
V.  46.     See  Commons,  etc. 

Parma,  Alessandro  Farnese,  Prince  of, 
v.  124,  127,  128. 

Parma,  Margaret  of,  v.  118,  119. 

Pascal  and  Novalis,  resemblances  be- 
tween, ii.  53. 

Past,  the,  the  fountain  of  all  Knowledge, 
ii.  89 ;  iii.  168 ;  the  true  Past  never 
dies,  38 ;  iv.  257 ;  sacred  interest  of, 
iii.  56,  79. 

Patrons  of  genius,  and  convivial  Maece- 
nases, i.  303 ;  patronage  twice  cursed, 
308  ;  ditto  twice  hlessed,  iii.  100. 

Pauperism,  iii.  158. 

Peerage,  the  English,  once  a  noble  re- 
ality, iv.  463. 


Penny,  Mr.,  engraving  of  the  Torphichen 
Knox,  V.  330, 

Pcntland  Firth,  Jarl  Hakon  wrecked  in, 
V.  278. 

Peoples'-Books,  ii.  332. 

Periodical  "Windmills,  ii.  61. 

Permanency  in  human  relations  the  basis 
of  all  good,  iv.  367. 

Philip  the  Good,  v.  113. 

Philip  the  Fair,  v.  116. 

Philip  II.,  V.  117-128. 

Philip  III.,  V.  128. 

Philosophes,  the  French,  iii.  178,  204. 

Philosophy  teaching  by  Experience,  ii. 
85  ;  iii.  47.     See  Kant. 

Phocion's  opposition  to  Demosthenes,  iv, 
470. 

Phosphoros,  "Werner's  parable  of,  i.  108. 

Pinkie,  battle  of,  v.  345,  353. 

Pitt,  William,  Earl  of  Chatham,  v.  139- 
151  ;  in  Parliament,  140  ;  post  in 
Ireland,  142 ;  his  domestic  circle,  143  ; 
forms  a  cabinet,  144 ;  made  a  peer, 
147  ;  death,  149  ;  his  character,  150. 

Pitt,  William,  the  younger,  v.  152-167  ; 
at  Cambridge,  153 ;  his  first  speech, 
154 ;  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer, 
157 ;  Prime  Minister,  158 ;  steadfast, 
163 ;  retires  from  office,  163 ;  death, 
164 ;  his  character,  165. 

Playwrights,  German  and  English,  1. 
356;  tricks  of  the  tra.1^,  362,  3G8,  384, 

Pleasure,  personal,  i.  462;  ii,  78,  192, 

Plebs,  wild  horse  of  a,  v,  48, 

Poetic  culture,  i,  40,  55,  225,  272, 

Poetry,  the  true  end  of,  i.  66,  271 ;  ii. 
41,  172 ;  iv.  397 ;  English  and  German 
poetry  mutually  illustrative,  i.  67 ; 
Poetry  can  never  die,  85  ;  not  a  mere 
stimulant,  215,  255 ;  ii.  76  ;  our 
theories  and  genetic  histories  of,  278 ; 
poetry  as  Apologue,  302 ;  what  implied 
by  a  nation's  Poetry,  341 ;  Epic,  iii.  49 ; 
present  condition  of,  136 ;  the  life  of 
each  man  a  Poem,  249 ;  what,  v.  24-27. 

Poland,  V.  22. 

Politeness,  Johnson's,  iii.  130. 

Poor-Law  Amendment  Act,  iv.  129;  laud- 
able as  a  /ia//-truth,  damnable  as  a 
whole,  131 ;  whoever  will  not  work 
ought  not  to  live,  lo5. 

Popularity  and  Originality,  i.  249;  ii. 
86,  96 ;  iv.  33 ;  fell  poison  of  popular 
applause,  iii.  321 ;  iv.  52.     See  Fame. 

Porbus,  Francis,  v.  65-67. 

Portraits,  Project  of  a  National  Exhibi- 
tion of  Scottish,  iv.  404-413, 

Poverty,  the  lot  of  many  poets  and  wise 
men,  i.  312;  advantages  from,  314; 
ii.  117,  120;  Christian -Orthodoxy's 
dread  of,  iii.  67. 


382 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS 


Power,  love  of,  iv.  304.    See  Ambition. 

Present  Time,  the,  ii.  57 ;  iii.  18,  27 ;  in 

pangs  of  travail  \vith  the  New,  32 ;  the 

Present   the  living  sum-total   of    the 

whole  Past,  39;   ii.  388.     See  Nine- 

'         teenth  Century. 

Prestige,  vi.  35. 

Prestonpans,  battle  of,  v.  180. 

Pride's  Purge,  iv.  344. 

Priest  and  Philosopher,  old  healthy  iden- 
tity of,  ii.  94 ;  iii.  16. 

Priesthoods,  iv.  161. 

Printing,  invention  of,  ii.  317. 

Prinzenraub,  the,  iv.  414-448. 

Property,  what  is,  iv.  163 ;  none  eternal 
but  God  the  Maker's,  174. 

Prose,  good,  better  than  bad  Rhyme,  iii. 
165. 

Protestantism,  modern,  i.  131. 

Public  Opinion,  Force  of,  i.  463 ;  ii.  79. 

Publishing  Societies,  what  they  might  do 
towards  a  real  History  of  England,  iv. 
346. 

Puffery,  the  deluge  of,  iii.  203. 

Puritan  Revolution,  the,  iv.  458. 

Puritanism,  iv.  178  ;  importance  of,  Scot- 
tish and  English,  v.  359. 

Putrescence  and  social  decay,  iii.  271. 

Pym,  John,  iv.  322. 

Quackery,  portentous  age  of,  iii.  270 ; 
dishonesty  the  raw  material  alike  of 
Quackery  and  Dupery,  273  ;  deception 
and  self-deception,  295,  300 ;  portentous 
age  of,  iv.  150. 

Quietest,  the  greatest  by  nature  also  the, 
iv.  49.     See  Silence,  Wholeness. 

Radicalism,  Parliamentary,  iv.  185 ; 
Paralytic,  191. 

Rahel  Varnhagen  von  Ense.     See  Ense. 

Railway  Promoters,  v.  35. 

Ram-dass  the  Hindoo  man-god,  iv.  36. 

Rammekens,  castle  of,  v.  127. 

Rane,  the  Far-travelled,  v.  253. 

Rapin,  v.  301,  251  n. 

Read,  what  it  is  to,  an  author,  i.  150, 
251 ;  ii.  1,  50 ;  iv.  236. 

Readers,  good,  iv.  455. 

Reality,  deep  significance  of,  iii.  49,  55, 
178,  317,  329,  384 ;  iv.  398. 

Reform,  ii.  284  ;  not  joyous  but  grievous, 
iv.  304;  Ministries,  Benthamee,  188; 
Parliamentary,  v.  156 ;  strange  mean- 
ing of  the  new  Reform  measure,  v. 
9,  11. 

Reformation,  era  of  the,  ii.  284 ;  in  Scot- 
land, iii.  82 ;  Reformation,  Knox's 
History  of  the,  v.  352. 

Reid,  Dr.,  ii.  24. 

Religion,    utilitarian,    i.    215 ;    ii.    77 ; 


heroic  idea  of,  118 ;  self-conscious,  iii. 
22 ;  how  to  teach,  iv.  195.  See  Chris- 
tian. 

Eenncr,  the.     See  Hugo  von  Trimberg. 

Renunciation,  the  beginning  of  Life,  ii. 
15;  one  harmonious  element  of  the 
Highest,  iii.  239. 

Republic,  Dutch,  v.  124,  130. 

Republic  of  Literature,  i.  201.  See 
Literary  Men,  Literature. 

Requesens,  v.  121,  122. 

Respectability,  iii.  254 ;  baleful  influence 
of,  326 ;  iv.  29 ;  how  generated,  iii. 
394.     See  Gigmanity. 

Revenge,  duty  of,  iv.  145, 

Reverence,  worth  of,  i.  236 ;  not  syco- 
phanc3%  iii.  77,  160;  need  of  en- 
lightenment, ii.  395 ;  reverence  for  the 
Highest,  in  ourselves  and  in  others, 
iii.  249 ;  our  want  of,  iv.  363  ;  Goethe 
on,  474. 

Reviewers,  duty  of,  i.  394 ;  what  is  called 
'reviewing,'  ii.  5;  iii.  24;  the  trade 
well-nigh  done,  ii.  447 ;  Smelfungus's 
despair,  iii.  136.     See  Read. 

Revolution,  a  European,  rapidly  pro- 
ceeding, ii.  389.  See  Commonweal, 
Europe. 

Revolution,  English,  our  great,  iv.  235 ; 
322;  Civil- War  Pamphlets,  324;  Pride's 
Purge,  344. 

Revolution,  French,  meaning  of  the,  ii. 
82 ;  masses  of  Quackism  set  fire  to,  iii. 
274 ;  a  greater  work  never  done  by 
men  so  small,  407 ;  the  Event  of  these 
modern  ages,  iv.  1 ;  Parliamentary 
History  of  the,  1-21 ;  Thiers's  History, 
Mignet's,  and  others,  2 ;  cxirious  col- 
lections of  revolutionary  books,  pam- 
phlets, etc.,  7;  death  of  Foul  on,  10; 
the  Palais  -  Royal,  white  and  black 
Cockades,  the  Insurrection  of  Women, 
13 ;  the  Jacobins'  Club,  in  its  early 
days  of  moral-sublime,  15 ;  the  Sep- 
tember Massacre,  18  ;  v.  162. 

Revolution,  the  South-American,  and  set 
of  Revolutions,  iv.  61. 

Reynard  the  Fox,  Apologue  of,  ii.  274 ; 
researches  into  its  origin,  319 ;  analysis 
of,  321 ;  extract,  showing  the  language 
of  our  old  Saxon  Fatherland,  329. 

Richardson,  i.  277. 

Richelieu's  pernicious  meddling  in  Ger- 
many, V.  51,  52 ;  mentioned,  129. 

Richter,  Jean  Paul  Friedrich,  i.  1-25; 
leading  events  of  his  life,  6 ;  his  multi- 
farious works,  9 ;  extract  from  Quintua 
Fixlein,  23;  poverty,  314;  J.  P.  F. 
Richter  again,  ii.  96-159;  his  peculiar 
style,  97 ;  a  true  literary  man,  heroic 
and  devout,  100 ;  interesting  fragment 


INDEX 


383 


of  Autobiography,  102  ;  birth  and  pedi- 
gree, 104 ;  his  good  Father,  and  early 
home,  105 ;  self -vision.  111 ;  education 
and  extreme  poverty,  112 ;  his  first 
productions,  118 ;  this  too  a  Spartan 
Boy,  123 ;  his  Costume  controversy, 
124  ;  dares  to  be  poor,  128  ;  triumphant 
success  of  Hesperus,  135  ;  his  marriage, 
137  ;  unwearied  diligence,  138  ;  blind- 
ness and  death,  141 ;  intellectual  and 
literary  character,  142;  extracts,  148; 
on  Daughter -full  houses,  152 ;  his 
vast  Imagination,  153 ;  his  Dream  of 
Atheism,  155 ;  review  of  De  Stael's 
Allemagne,  i.  476  ;  Varnhagen's  plea- 
sant visit  to,  iv.  94. 

Ridicule  not  the  test  of  truth,  i.  413. 

Right  and  "Wrong  infinitely  different,  iii. 
110,  239 ;  the  question  of,  only  the 
second  question,  255.     See  Evil. 

Rights  and  Mights,  iv.  144;  the  final 
'rights'  of  man  an  abstruse  inquiry, 
152.     See  Might. 

Robber-Towers  and  Free-Towns  of  Ger- 
many, ii.  311. 

Robertson's  History  of  Scotland,  iii.  82. 

Robespierre's,  JIahomet,  scraggiest  of 
prophetic  discourses,  iii.  407  ;  an  atra- 
biliar  Formula  of  a  man,  nearly  two 
years  Autocrat  of  France,  408;  once 
an  Advocate  in  Arras,  iv.  309. 

Rognwald  (Reginald)  of  More,  v.  204; 
murdered,  206. 

Rohan,  Prince  Cardinal  de,  and  Caglios- 
tro,  iii.  303;  what  he  was,  339;  how 
he  bore  his  dismissal  from  Court,  and 
what  came  of  it,  345-401. 

Roland  of  Roncesvalles,  iii.  327. 

Rolf  the  Ganger,  infeftment  of  Nor- 
mandy, V.  205 ;  surname,  207. 

Roman  Emperors,  era  of  the,  i.  461 ;  con- 
quests, iv.  146 ;  Romans  out,  English 
in,  172 ;  History,  456 ;  the  Dictator- 
ship, 460. 

Romance,  the  age  of,  can  never  cease,  iii. 
324 ;  none  ever  seemed  romantic  to 
itself,  327. 

Rough,  John,  v.  343. 

Rous,  Sir  Francis,  and  the  Barebones 
Parliament,  iv.  460. 

Rousseau,  i.  418,  466 ;  iii.  49,  207 ;  iv. 
169,  285. 

Rudolf  of  Hapsburg,  ii.  277. 

Ruskin,  John,  '  Who  is  best  man  ? '  v. 
308 ;  Fors  Clavigera  cited,  308. 

Ryswick,  treaty  of,  v.  131. 

Sachs,  Hans,  a  literary  contemporary  of 

Luther,  i.  32. 
Sagas,   value  of    the,    Snorro's  History 

mainly  made  out  of,  v.  201. 


St.  Andrews,  futile  siege  of,  by  Arran,  v. 
342 ;  oubliette  of,  339,  342 ;  surrenders 
to  the  French,  344. 

St.  Johnston's  ribbands,  v.  355. 

St.  Olaf.     See  Olaf  the  Thick-set, 

Sandilands  of  Caldar,  v.  339. 

Satan,  Milton's,  i.  315. 

Sauerteig,  on  the  significance  of  Reality, 
iii.  49 ;  on  Life,  249 ;  on  National 
Buffering,  273  ;  on  the  Eras  of  England, 
iv.  171 ;  on  Reforming  a  Nation,  304. 

Saxe,  Marechal  de,  iv.  439. 

Saxon  Chronicle,  v.  205  n.,  218,  251  n., 
284  n.,  285  n.,  288. 

Saxon  Heptarchy,  the,  iii.  175 ;  iv.  172 ; 
character,  140  ;  race,  171-185. 

Saxony,  Kings  of,  iv.  434,  437. 

Scepticism,  the  sourness  of  the  new  fruit 
of  growing  Knowledge,  iii.  40 ;  the 
Sceptic's  viaticum,  226.     See  Doubt. 

Schiller's  ideal  of  the  true  Artist,  i.  57 ; 
his  perfection  of  pomp-prose,  ii.  148; 
Schiller,  165-215 ;  Correspondence  with 
Goethe,  168 ;  his  cosmopolitanism,  171 ; 
his  high  aims,  174;  literary  life  and 
struggles,  175 ;  connection  with  Goethe, 
186;  illness  and  quiet  heroism,  188; 
his  character  and  mode  of  life,  193 ; 
intellectual  gifts,  197 ;  contrast  be- 
tween the  Robbers  and  the  Maid  of 
Orleans,  203;  Song  of  the  Alps,  210; 
his  philosophy,  211.  See  Madame  de 
Stael. 

Schlegel,  Friedrich,  ii.  17 ;  iii.  31. 

Schleiermacher,  iv.  93. 

Schools,  non-vocal,  iv.  472;  and  vocal, 
V.  39-43. 

Scotch  metaphysics,  i.  79 ;  ii.  63  (see 
Mechanical  Philosophv) ;  national  char- 
acter, iv.  42,  389. 

Scott,  Sir  Walter,  iv.  22-87 ;  great  man, 
or  not  a  great  man,  24 ;  one  of  the 
healthiest  of  men,  38,  52 ;  an  old  Bor- 
derer, in  new  vesture,  40 ;  early  en- 
vironment, 41 ;  infancy  and  young 
manhood,  44 ;  Metrical  Romances,  and 
worldly  prosperity,  50,  56  ;  his  con- 
nexion with  the  Ballantynes,  53 ;  in- 
fluence of  Goethe,  57  ;  the  Author  of 
Waverley,  60 ;  not  much  as  a  letter- 
writer,  61 ;  dinner  with  the  Prince 
Regent,  61 ;  birtheve  of  a  Waverley 
Novel,  63 ;  life  at  Abbotsford,  65 ; 
literary  value  of  the  Waverley  Novels, 
73 ;  extempore  writing,  78 ;  bankruptcy, 
77  ;  a  lonely,  brave,  impoverished  man, 
84. 

Scoundrelism,  significance  of,  iii.  393. 

Sea  -  robber}-,  distinguished  career  for 
Norse  gentlemen,  v.  205. 

Selborne,  Natural  History  of,  iii.  59. 


384 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS 


Self-forgetfulness,  "Werner's  notion  of,  i. 
116 ;  how  good  men  practise  it,  313. 
See  Renunciation. 

Self-interest,  political  systems  founded 
on,  i.  462,  464 ;  ii.  67. 

Self-worship,  ii.  396. 

Seneca,  our  niceliest-proportioned  Half- 
and-half,  iii.  226. 

Sentimentalist,  the  barrenest  of  mortals, 
iii.  9  ;  Goethe's  opinion  of  him,  ii.  421 ; 
puking  and  sprawling,  iv.  39. 

Servants  '  hired  for  life,'  iv.  367,  379. 

Servantship,  nomadic  and  permanent, 
V.  5. 

Settlements,  early  Norse,  in  Normandy, 
V.  205. 

Shakspeare's  humour,  i.  17  ;  no  sectarian, 
249;  depth  of  insight,  255;  iii.  437; 
bombast,  i.  270  ;  Novalis's  thoughts 
on,  ii.  41 ;  good  taste,  234 ;  compared 
with  Goethe,  iii.  438 ;  education,  142 ; 
compared  with  Scott,  iv.  55 ;  not  an 
easy  writer,  79 ;  beautiful  human  soul, 
178  ;  what  he  might  have  made  of  the 
History  of  England,  v.  26. 

Sheffield  Assassination  Company  Limited, 
V.  5,  35. 

Sheep,  significant  resemblances  between 
men  and,  iii.  86,  392 ;  iv.  23. 

Shelley,  iii.  31. 

Siegfried,  the  hero  of  old  Northern  Tra- 
dition, ii.  230,  240. 

Sigrid  the  Proud,  v.  237  ;  sets  fire  to  her 
lovers,  238. 

Sigurd,  Jarl  of  Lade,  v.  211 ;  father  of 
Hakon-Jarl,  217. 

Sigurd  Syr,  St.  Olaf's  stepfather,  v.  253 ; 
amongst  his  reapers,  257. 

Sigurd  the  Crusader,  v.  298-301. 

Sigwald,  Jarl,  v.  244-247. 

Skreya  fights  with  Hakon  the  Good,  v. 
215. 

Skjalgson,  Erling,  v.  274,  276. 

Silence  the  grand  epitome  and  sum-total 
of  all  Harmony,  iii.  17 ;  out  of,  comes 
Strength,  85 ;  significance  and  sacred- 
ness  of,  234,  238 ;  iv.  27. 

Sincerity,  the  grand  secret  for  finding 
readers,  i.  268 ;  iv.  55 ;  the  most 
precious  of  all  attainments,  ii.  368  ;  iii. 
14.5,  255  ;  iv.  151,  233,  398.  See  Origin- 
al Man,  Truthfulness,  AVholeness. 

Slavery  of  Wisdom  to  Folly  the  one  in- 
tolerable sort,  iv.  360. 

Slave-trade,  the,  and  how  to  suppress  it, 
iv.  381. 

Sleep,  curious  to  think  of,  iii.  369. 

Slim,  Deacon,  v.  302. 

Sluggard-and-Scoundrel  Protection  So- 
ciety, iv.  .349. 

Smyth,  Hon.  Mrs.  Ralph,  v.  361,  363. 


Snorro  Sturleson,  v.  201,  215,  231,  257, 
261 ;  Homeric  element  in,  280  ;  murder 
of,  307  ;  noble  task  to  distil  a  book 
from  the  Heimskringla,  310. 

Society,  Machine  of,  ii.  66,  75  ;  miracu- 
lous power  of  association,  iii.  11 ; 
society  a  second  all-embracing  Life, 
12 ;  wholeness  and  healthy  vmcon- 
sciousness,  15 ;  burning-up  of,  180. 

Soirees,  Lion,  the  crowning  phenomenon 
of  modern  civilisation,  iv.  22. 

Somerville,  Lord,  v.  363. 

Somerville  portrait  of  Knox,  v.  332,  360, 
367. 

Songs  and  their  influence,  i.  285 ;  divine 
song,  iv.  397. 

Sophocles,  tragedies  of,  iv.  457. 

Sorrow,  Sanctuary  of,  i.  242,  457,  363. 

Sower's  Song,  the,  i.  472. 

Space.     See  Time. 

Speaking,  difference  between,  and  public- 
speaking,  iii.  294.     See  Conversation. 

Sphinx-Riddle,  the,  ii.  280. 

Spinola,  v.  128. 

Spiritual,  the,  the  parent  of  the  Visible, 
ii.  278 ;  iii.  22 ;  rudiments  of  a  new 
era,  ii.  346,  369,  381 ;  iii.  37,  239. 

Stael's,  Madame  de,  Allemagne,  Rich- 
ter's  review  of,  i.  476 ;  '  Schiller, 
Goethe  and  Madame  de  Stael,'  502. 

Stamford  Bridge,  battle  of,  v.  294-296. 

Statistic  Tables,  beautifully  reticulated, 
but  holding  no  knowledge,  iv.  124 ; 
personal  observation  the  only  method, 
126,  141. 

Steal,  thou  shalt  not,  iv.  163. 

Stealing  generically  includes  the  whole 
art  of  Scoundrelism,  iii.  263 ;  iv.  236. 

Sterne,  i.  17. 

Stewart,  Dugald,  i.  79  ;  his  opinion  of 
Burns,  277  ;  of  Idealism,  ii.  23. 

Stickelstad,  battle  of,  eclipse  of  the  sun, 
V.  284. 

Stilling's  Jung,  experience  of  Goethe,  ii. 
420. 

Strafford,  passages  in  the  Impeachment 
and  Trial  of,  iv.  248. 

Strasburg,  how,  became  French,  v.  53. 

Strength.     See  Silence,  AVisdom. 

Strieker,  the,  an  early  German  writer,  ii. 
286. 

Stuart,  Mary,  iii.  82. 

Style,  every  man  his  own,  i.  19 ;  pictorial 
power,  iii.  57  ;  eccentricities  of,  ii.  91. 

Suffrage,  iv.  186. 

Supply  and  demand,  our  grand  maxim 
of,  i.  258. 

Svein  Estrithson,  v.  273  ;  King  of  Den- 
mark, 273,  288,  289,  293. 

Svein  Forkbeard  vows  to  conquer  Eng- 
land, v.  224,  226  ;  siege  of  London  by, 


J 


INDEX 


385 


232 ;  marries  Sigrid  the  I'roud,  241  ; 
possessions  in  England,  249 ;  death, 
251,  252,  273. 

Svein  of  Jomsburg,  Knut's  bastard  son, 
V,  284-287. 

Sverrir  founds  new  dynasty  in  Norway, 
V.  303 ;  Birkebein  leader,  304. 

Swabian  Era,  the,  ii.  275  ;  birth  of  Ger- 
man Literature,  276,  343. 

Swarmery,  or  the  gathering  of  men  into 
swarms,  v.  3-9. 

Swashbuckler  age,  iv.  393. 

Swedenborgians  in  questionable  com- 
pany, iii.  271. 

Swift,  i.  17. 

Symbols  of  the  Godlike,  worn-out,  iii.  31. 

Tait,  Mr.  Robert,  v.  331,  362. 

Talc,  The,  translated  from  Goethe,  with 
elucidations,  ii.  447-479. 

Tamerlane,  i.  399. 

Tancred  of  Hauteville,  v.  206. 

Taste,  true  poetic,  not  dependent  on 
riches,  i.  40 ;  German  authors,  47  ;  gift 
of  Poetry  presupposes  taste,  ii.  234 ; 
dilettante  upholstery,  ii.  424. 

Tauler,  Johann,  ii.  308. 

Taxation,  spigot,  of,  ii.  92;  iii.  80. 

Taylor's  Historic  Survey  of  German 
Poetry,  ii.  333-370. 

Teufelsdrockh,  on  the  Greatness  of 
Great  Men,  ii.  387. 

Thangbrand,  v.  236,  237. 

Theatrical  Reports,  a  vapid  nuisance,  i. 
257. 

Thierry,  M.,  iv.  173. 

Thinkers,  how  few  are,  iii.  325 ;  intellec- 
tual thrift,  iv.  108. 

Thorarin,  v.  267. 

Thord  Potbelly,  v.  263. 

Thormod,  v.  237. 

Thor's  collar,  v.  235,  238. 

Thought,  how,  rules  the  world,  i.  396 ; 
ii.  377 ;  iii.  373,  384. 

Thrift,  value  of,  iv.  128. 

Thyri,  Tr\-ggvesou's  wife,  v.  241. 

Time  and  Space,  quiddities  not  entities, 
i.  166 ;  ii.  26 ;  the  outer  veil  of  Eter- 
nity, iii.  79,  152. 

Times,  Signs  of  the,  ii.  56-82. 

Today,  i.  475  ;  the  conflux  of  two 
Eternities,  ii.  59. 

Tolerance,  i.  405,  467. 

Tomline,  Dr.,  v.  153,  164. 

Tongue,  watch  well  thy,  iii.  85 ;  iv.  279  ; 
miraculous  gift  of,  iii.  169  ;  iv.  80. 

Torphichen,  Lord,  portrait  of  Knox,  v. 
330 ;  reproduced  in  woodcut,  332. 

Tosti,  v.  293. 

Trades  Union,  in  quest  of  its  '  Four 
eights,'  v.  31. 

VOL.   V. 


Triller,  der,  iv.  423,  424,  447. 
Trimberg,  Hugo  von,  ii.  287,   300 ;    his 

Renner,  a  singular,  clear-hearted  old 

book,  287. 
Trimmers  and  Truckers,  iii.  31,  410. 
Troubadour  Period  of  Literature,  ii.  275, 

283. 
Triple  Alliance,  the,  v.  131. 
Truth,  individual,  the  beginning  of  social 

good,  iv.  137. 
Truthfulness,  i.  424 ;  iii.  171 ;  iv.  409. 
Tryggve,  Olaf's  father,  v.  217,  252. 
Tryggve  Olafson,  v.  286. 
Tryggveson.     See  Olaf. 
Turenne  and  Louis  xiv.,  v.  53. 
Turf  Einar  invents  peat,  v.  206  ;  cuts  an 

eagle  on  back  of  Fairhair's  son,  207. 
Two  Hundred  and  Fifty  Years  ago,   a 

Fragment  about  Duels,    iv.    384-396 ; 

Holies  of   Haughton,    385 ;    Croydon 

Races,  389;   Sir  Thomas  Dutton  and 

Sir  Hatton  Cheek,  392. 
Tyll  Eulenspmjel,  adventures  of,  ii.  304. 
Tyndale,  WiUiam,  v.  326. 

Ulf,  Jarl,  helps  Knut,  death,  v.  271-272. 

Unconsciousness  the  first  condition  of 
health,  iii.  1,  16  ;  the  fathomless 
domain  of,  234. 

Universal  suffrage,  v.  308. 

Universities,  value  of,  iv.  453-455 ;  en- 
dowments, 467-470  ;  of  Prague  and  of 
Vienna,  ii.  315 ;  disputed  seniority  of 
Oxford  and  Cambridge,  iv.  343. 

Untamability,  iii.  354,  387. 

Unveracity,  iv,  403,  410.     See  Sincerity. 

Utilitarianism,  i.  56,  82,  215,  461 ;  ii.  73. 
193,  360 ;  iii.  41 ;  Bentham's  utilitarian 
funeral,  ii.  402. 

Utrecht,  Union  of,  v.  124 ;  peace  of,  132. 

Vaensoun,  Adrianc,  v.  323. 

Valdez,  v.  122. 

Valet,  the,  theory  of  Heroes,  ii.  167. 

Vampire-bats,  ecclesiastic,  iv.  270. 

Vansomer,  v.  323. 

Van  Tromp,  v.  130. 

Varnhagen  von  Ense.     See  Ense. 

Varnish,  Conservative,  v.  20. 

Vates  and  Seer,  the  true  Poet  a,  ii.  377, 

iv.  53 ;  398. 
Vaticination,  ii.  56. 
Vengeur,  on  the  Sinking  of  the,  iv.  208- 

225. 
Veracity.     See  Unveracity. 
Vere,  Sir  Francis,  v.  128. 
Verheiden,  v.  326. 
View-hunting,  iii.  24. 
Virgil's  jEneid,  iii.  51. 
Virtue,  healthy  and  unhealthy,  iii.  7; 

synonym  of  Pleasure,  238. 

2  B 


386 


MISCELLANEOUS    ESSAYS 


Volnej,  J.  Jacques  and  Company,  iv.  285. 

Voltaire,  i.  201,  215,  396-468;  Voltaire 
and  Goethe  contrasted,  249-251 ;  the 
man  of  his  century,  401 ;  adroitness, 
and  multifarious  success,  407 ;  recti- 
tude, 410 ;  essentially  a  Mocker,  411 ; 
petty  explosiveness,  414 ;  vanity  his 
ruling  passion,  419 ;  visit  to  the  Cafe 
de  Procope,  420 ;  lax  morality,  423 ; 
the  greatest  of  Persiflcurs,  426 ;  visit 
to  Frederick  the  Great,  427 ;  his  trouble 
with  his  women,  429 ;  his  last  triumphal 
visit  to  Paris,  436 ;  ii.  391 ;  death,  i. 
443 ;  his  intellectual  gifts,  445 ;  criti- 
cisms of  Shakspeare,  452 ;  opposition 
to  Christianity,  455 ;  of  all  Frenchmen 
the  most  French,  iii.  206. 

Wages  no  index  of  well-being,  iv.  143. 

Wagram,  Napoleon  at,  iv.  98. 

Walpole,  Horace,  Memoirs  of,  iv.  167. 

Walpole,  Home  Secretary,  bursts  into 
tears,  v.  11,  141,  142. 

"Walter  the  Penniless,  v.  13. 

"Wartburg  and  its  immortal  remembrances 
and  monitions,  iv.  427. 

Watt,  James,  iv.  183. 

Weimar  and  its  intellectual  wealth,  ii. 
428 ;  Duke  of,  iv.  443 ;  Bernhard  of, 
443. 

Weiss,  Theresa.     See  Heyne. 

Welser,  Philippine,  ii.  314. 

Werner,  Life  and  Writings  of,  i.  87-145  ; 
his  drama  of  the  Sohne  des  Thais,  94 ; 
glimpses  of  hidden  meaning,  112 ;  pro- 
phetic aspirations,  115 ;  his  mother's 
death,  119 ;  intercourse  with  Hoff- 
,mann,  121 ;  Kreuz  an  der  Ostsee,  122  ; 
Martin  I/uther,  oder  die  Weihe  der 
Kraft,  125 ;  his  repeated  divorces,  129  ; 
dislike  for  modern  Protestantism,  131 ; 
becomes  a  Catholic,  133 ;  death,  136 ; 
questionable  character,  137 ;  melan- 
choly posthumous  fragment,  139. 

West-Indian  Colonies,  our,  sinking  into 
ruin,  iv.  349  ;  whose  the  '  proprietor- 
ship'of  them,  373,  377. 

Westphalia,  Peace  of,  v.  129. 

Wettin  Line  of  Saxon  Princes,  iv.  415. 

White  of  Selbome,  iii.  59. 

Whole,  only  in  the,  can  the  parts  be 
truly  seen,  ii.  90. 

Wholeness,  and  healthy  unconsciousness, 
iii.  2,  16 ;  ii.  384 ;  iii.  240,  255. 

Wickliffe,  Icon  of,  v.  314 ;  Beza's  article 
on,  316;  Fuller  on  disinterment  of,  316. 


Wieland,  i.  47. 

Wilderspin,  v.  42. 

Wilhelm  of  Meissen,  iv.  416. 

Wilhclm  3Ieiste7-'s  Apprenticeship  and 
Travels,  i.  224-2-^;  Travels,  extract 
from,  iv.  473. 

Wilkie,  Sir  David,  portrait  of  Knox,  v. 
328. 

William  the  Conqueror,  v.  205. 

WUliam  of  Orange,  v.  101,  120,  121,  123, 
124  ;  death  of,  126. 

William  of  Orange  and  England,  v.  131. 

Willoughby,  Lord,  v.  127. 

Winkelmann,  Johann,  i.  351. 

Wisdom,  one  man  with,  stronger  than  aU 
men  without,  ii.  75,  370,  375. 

Wise  man,  the,  alone  strong,  iv.  147, 160. 

Wisest  man,  the,  at  the  top  of  societ}-, 
iv.  361. 

Wishart,  George,  Emery  Tylney's  bio- 
graphy of,  Knox's  intercourse  with,  v. 
335 ;  Knox  on  last  days  of,  338 ;  death, 
339. 

Wolf,'  iv.  93. 

Wolmar,  Melchior,  v.  324. 

Women  bom  worshippers,  ii.  396 ;  First 
Blast  against  the  monstrous  Regiment 
of,  V.  349,  350. 

Worcester,  picture  of  the  Battle  of,  iv.  10. 

Work,  man's  little,  lies  not  isolated, 
stranded,  iii.  338 ;  how  it  clutches  hold 
of  this  solid-seeming  world,  384;  the 
mission  of  man,  iv.  133. 

Working  classes,  uneducated,  and  edu- 
cated Unworking,  iii.  143 ;  ominous 
condition  of  the,  iv.  118,  148 ;  perfect 
understanding,  equivalent  to  remedy, 
122 ;  statistics  hitherto  of  little  avail, 
124 ;  what  constitutes  the  well-being 
of  a  man,  126,  133,  143  ;  the  poor  man 
seeking  work  and  unaljle  to  find  it, 
135 ;  the  best-paid  workmen  the  loudest 
in  complaint,  142 ;  need  of  Government, 
155. 

AVorms,  the  venerable  city  of,  ii.  255. 

Wrath,  a  backgi-ound  of,  in  every  man 
and  creature,  iv.  384. 

Wretchedness,  i.  310 ;  iii.  29. 

Wrong.     See  Eight. 

Wiilfstan,  Archbishop,  sermon  on  the 
state  of  England,  v.  249, 

Young,   Peter,    tutor  to  James  vi.,   v. 

314. 
Youth  and  Manhood,  i.  291 ;  mudbath  of 

youthful  dissipations,  295. 


Printed  by  T.  and  A.  Constable,  Printers  to  Her  Majesty 
at  the  Edinburgh  University  Press 


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